Recollections 


}?':-X''  ^•■■V, 


AND 


vations 


1. 


ft       -M-^  •      M^  * 


DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 


GIFT  OF 

Family   of 
''\    C.    Me'=rltt 


Recollections  and  Observations 

DURING  A  MINISTRY  IN  THE  NORTH  CARO- 
LINA CONFERENCE,  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH,  SOUTH,  OF  FORTY-THREE  YEARS 


BY 

L.  L.  NASH,  D.D. 


INTRODUCTION  BY 

REV.  R.  H.  BENNETT,  D.  D. 

EMORY  UNIVERSITY 
ATLANTA,  GA. 


RALEIGH: 

Mutual  Publishing  Company,  Printers 

1916 


Div.  s. 


DEDICATION 


To  MY  WIFE  Mrs.  Louisa  Taylor  Nash,  and  to  my  children,  Mrs. 
Rosa  Nash  Penny,  Marvin  Wesley  Nash,  Hugh  Wightman 
Nash,  my  Daughters-in-law,  and  my  Grand  Child- 
ren, THIS  Volume  is  Affectionately         >     \ 
Dedicated. 


/ 


-^^s^n 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page. 

Foreword     7 

Introduction    9 

I.    My  First  Year  in  ttie  Ministry — Bath   Circuit 11 

II.     Williamston    Circuit 21 

III. ,  Greenville   and   Rolesville   Circuits 25 

IV.     Leasburg    Circuit 42 

V.     Stationed   in   Raleigh 55 

VI.    Raleigh  Pastorate  Continued 62 

VII.     Fifth  Street  Church,  Wilmington 69 

VIII.     Fifth    Street    Church    Continued 78 

IX.     Centenary    Church,    New   Bern — Hay    Street    Church, 

FayettevUle    83 

X.    Hay    Street    Church    Continued 92 

XI.     Washington    Station 97 

XII.    Rocky  Mount  Station 102 

XIII.     Henderson    Station 107 

XIV.     A  Further  Account  of  Evangelistic  Work 114 

XV.     The  Progress  of  Methodism  in  North  Carolina  Confer- 

erence   in    Forty-three   years 117 

XVI.     Some  Thoughts  on  Evangelism 121 

XVII.     Our  Schools  and  Colleges 128 

XVIII.     The  Progress  of  North  Carolina  in  Forty-three  Years  134 

XIX.     The  Things  That  Abide 138 


^^^in 


FOREWORD 


I  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  in  JSTovemher,  1872.  At  that  time  I  lived  in  Hali- 
fax County,  ISTorth  Carolina,  and  held  my  membership  at 
Bethel  Church  on  the  old  Roanoke  Circuit.  Eev.  Ira  T. 
Wyche  was  my  pastor  and  Rev.  S.  D.  Adams  was  my 
Presiding  Elder.  I  was  licensed  to  preach  at  the  fourth 
quarterly  conference,  w^hich  was  held  at  a  church  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  county  called  Smith's  Church.  I  told  my 
pastor  that  I  felt  called  to  the  work  of  an  itinerant,  and 
wished  to  enter  the  regular  work.  I  knew  very  little  about 
the  polity  and  workings  of  the  Cliurch,  and  thought  it 
would  be  better  for  me  to  take  work  as  a  supply,  if  there 
was  an  opening.  My  Presiding  Elder  thought  that  the 
wiser  course,  and  advised  me  to  go  to  Conference,  and  get 
acquainted  with  the  brethren.  He  said  he  could  give  me 
a  charge.  I  attended  the  session  of  Conference  in  Decem.ber, 
1872,  which  met  in  Fayetteville,  jS[.  C,  Bishop  Robert 
Paine  presiding.  I  was  sent  to  Bath  Circuit  in  Beaufort 
County,  where  I  began  a  ministry  that  has  gone  on  without 
a  break  for  forty-three  years ;  and  I  have  attended  forty- 
four  sessions  of  the  J^orth  Carolina  Conference  consecutively, 
and  never  missed  but  one  roll  call,  and  that  was  caused  by 
the  steamer  on  which  I  went  from  ]^ew  Bern  to  Elizabeth 
City  in  1895  being  delayed  by  a  storm;  so  I  could  not  get 
there  at  the  opening  of  the  session. 

I  propose  to  tell  my  recollections  of  men  and  things,  dur- 
ing a  ministry  of  forty-three  years  in  these  pages. 

I  am  aware  of  the  fact,  that  very  few  biographies  of  men 
are  of  much  interest  to  the  world,  and  for  this  reason  do 
not  intend  to  write  an   autobiography;   but  to  give   some 

7 


8  FOKEWOED. 

ac5couiit  of  the  work  of  the  church  in  the  ^N^orth  Carolina  Con- 
ference during  the  years  I  have  heen  connected  with  it. 

I  have  seen  wonderful  changes  during  mj  life  in  this 
Conference.  When  I  entered  the  ministry,  there  was  not 
a  fine  church  building  in  the  Conference.  There  were  a 
few  plain  brick  churches.  Edenton  Street  Church,  Raleigh, 
had  a  plain  brick  church ;  Front  Street  Church,  Wilmington, 
Tryon  Street  Church,  Charlotte,  and  a  few  others,  were 
modest  brick  churches.  All  the  rest  were  plain  wooden 
structures,  and  the  Methodists  were  a  plain,  pious  people. 

The  War  Between  the  States  had  left  the  whole  South- 
land devastated,  and  during  the  seven  years  that  had  elapsed 
since  the  fall  of  the  Confederacy,  the  work  of  improvement, 
and  rebuilding  had  begun.  I  entered  the  ministry  at  the 
right  time  to  take  part  in  this  general  upbuilding  of  Church 
and  State.  It  is  of  the  times  of  this  renaissance  I 
will  attempt  to  write.  I  can  only  speak  of  a  few  things, 
as  I  have  not  the  time,  nor  would  my  readers  have  the 
patience  to  read  all,  if  I  should  attempt  to  tell  all  the  events 
of  a  very  active  and  laborious  life.  I  have  picked  only  a 
few  things  from  the  mass  of  recollections  to  record  in  this 
volume,  which  is  written  with  the  hope  of  doing  good. 

L.  L.  IsTash. 

Hamlet,  K  C,  1916. 


INTRODUCTION 


More  than  one  great  man  has  been  credited  with  saying, 
"I  do  not  care  to  read  what  men  have  imagined.  I  like  to 
read  what  they  have  done."  I^othing  will  ever  he  more 
interesting  than  human  biography.  Every  true  life  is  great. 
And  every  life  is  true  that  follows  duty  and  strives  to  fill 
out  the  plan  drawn  for  it  by  the  Infinite  Wisdom.  Such 
a  life  is  ever  vital  with  hope,  purpose,  confiict,  triumph. 
Sobs  and  song  intermingle,  but  the  latter  outnumber  the 
former  and  prevail  against  them,  and  by  and  by  the  miseries 
are  forever  succeeded  by  the  hallelujahs. 

John  Wesley,  Asbury,  Coke,  all  wrote  down  from  day  to 
day  God's  doings  in  and  for  them.  ToUowing  their  ex- 
ample many  a  Methodist  preacher  has  proved  that  every 
man  may  be  his  ovra.  Bos  well.  "For  the  greater  glory  of 
God"  has  been  the  inspiration  of  such  journals.  What  narra- 
tives are  more  thrilling  than  those  of  the  pioneer  circuit 
riders  ? 

Dr.  Nash  is  a  modern  day  descendant  of  these  mighty  men 
of  old.  He  has  heard  the  same  trumpet  call  to  which  they 
answered.  He  has  been  stirred  by  the  same  spirit  that 
thrilled  and  moved  their  hearts.  And  he  has  sounded  forth 
the  same  message  which  has  never  yet  returned  unto  the 
Lord  void,  but  has  ever  accomplished  that  whereunto  it  was 
sent.  As  one  reads  this  book,  he  will  enjoy  its  fine  flavor 
and  will  see  that  the  author  has  been  greatly  honored  and 
blessed  of  God  in  his  work. 

The  artless  simplicity  of  truth  appears  in  these  annals. 
The  record  speaks  for  itself.  The  book  is  the  modest  recital 
of  a  triumphant  ministry.     It  will  give  joy  to  the  many 


10  InTEODUCTIOjST 

thousands  brought  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ 
through  our  brother's  ministry  who  rise  up  and  call  him 
blessed. 

R.  H.  Bennett 
Atlanta,  Ga. 


Recollections  and  Observations 

CHAPTEE  I. 

My  Fiest  Yeae  in  the  Ministey — Bath   Circuit. 

At  the  session  of  the  jSForth  Carolina  Conference,  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  South,  which  met  in  Fajetteville, 
North  Carolina,  in  December,  1872,  I  was  sent  as  a  supply 
to  the  Bath  Circuit  in  Beaufort  County,  ISTorth  Carolina.  I 
went  somewhat  like  Abraham,  not  knowing  whither  I  was 
going.  The  country,  as  well  as  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
was  new  to  me.  Having  lost  my  young  wife  in  March,  and 
feeling  that  I  had  nothing  to  live  for  but  to  do  what  good 
I  could,  and  get  to  heaven,  I  was  not  concerned  to  know 
where  my  work  was,  or  what  kind  of  a  charge  I  had. 

After  winding  up  my  seculiar  business,  and  arranging  to 
leave  my  little  girl  with  her  mother's  people,  I  set  out  to 
make  my  way  to  my  field  of  labor.  I  arranged  with  a 
young  man  to  take  me  to  Enfield,  where  I  was  to  take  the 
train  for  Rocky  Mount,  and  Tarboro,  but  a  snow  fell  the 
night  before  I  was  to  leave,  and  my  young  friend  refused 
to  take  me ;  so  I  set  out  to  walk  fifteen  miles  over  the  snow, 
to  get  to  my  appointment  in  time.  I  shall  never  forget  that 
walk.  Satan  attacked  me  with  all  sorts  of  trying  ques- 
tions. As  I  walked  over  the  snow  carrying  my  suit  case, 
he  said  to  me:  "What  a  fool  you  are.  Don't  you  know 
if  God  had  called  you  into  the  ministry,  you  would  not 
have  met  with  such  a  disappointment  at  the  start?"  I  did 
not  know  from  whom  these  questions  came,  and  began  to 
feel  very  much  like  a  fool  for  starting  on  such  a  journey, 
under  such  circumstances.  But  as  I  walked  along,  with  a 
heavy  heart  I  began  to  pray  for  help ;  and  then  Satan  made 
a  more  vicious  attack  upon  me.     He  said:  "Are  you  sure 

11 


12  Recollections 

you  have  got  religion ;  do  you  know  you  are  a  Christian,  you 
who  are  going  out  to  convert  men,  are  you  sure  you  are 
converted  yourself?  This  for  a  little  time  was  a  stunning 
blow;  and  I  felt  my  sinfulness,  and  un worthiness  more 
than  anything  else.  But  I  replied:  "If  I  have  not  been 
converted,  I  have  been  honestly  mistaken;  and  if  what  I 
have  experienced  of  peace  with  God,  is  not  religion,  then 
there  is  no  religion ;  and  if  Christianity  is  not  true,  then  there 
is  nothing  in  time,  or  eternity  worth  living  for.  If  I  am 
not  a  Christian,  then  I  will  serve  God  until  I  am  one." 

When  I  came  to  this  determination  the  clouds  rifted.  A 
sense  of  peace  filled  my  soul,  and  Satan  fled  from  me.  The 
Spirit  of  God  applied  this  Scripture  to  my  heart:  "This  is 
the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith." 
(John  5-4).  I  tramped  on  with  a  light  heart  until  I 
reached  the  depot  and  boarded  the  train. 

I  soon  reached  my  circuit,  and  began  to  preach,  and  visit 
my  people  from  house  to  house.  The  work  was  new  to  me: 
I  had  everything  to  learn.  I  studied  day  and  night,  and 
spent  much  time  in  prayer  for  help  from  God.  Wesley's 
Sermons,  Watson's  Institutes,  Fletcher's  Checks  to  Anti- 
nomianism  were  the  principal  books  that  I  studied.  It  is 
my  opinion  to  this  day,  that  there  has  been  no  improvement 
on  these  great  books. 

The  Old  Town  of  Bath. 

Bath  was  the  first  town  incorporated  in  North  Carolina. 
The  location  is  a  good  one;  it  lies  between  two  creeks  that 
come  together  just  below  the  town.  The  land  is  rich,  and 
all  crops  can  be  grown  profitably.  But  this  town  has  never 
prospered.  There  is  an  old  story  told  that  when  George 
Whitefield  passed  through  Bath,  the  old  Episcopal  Church, 
which  is  the  oldest  church  in  this  State,  was  shut  against 
him,  and  when  he  left  the  place  he  brushed  the  dust  of  his 


AND  Observations  13 

feet  off  against  it.  The  Episcopal  Church  in  Bath  was  built 
of  brick  brought  from  England,  and  it  was  erected  in  1Y34. 
The  people  there  believed  the  Whitefield  tradition  v/hen  I 
was  sent  to  that  church ;  but  I  never  had  any  faith  in  the 
story,  for  the  early  Methodists  were  accustomed  to  having 
the  Episcopal  Churches  shut  against  them,  and  when  they 
went  into  the  fields  to  preach  to  the  people,  they  never 
attacked  the  church,  but  understood  that  the  persecution  they 
received  was  owing  to  the  low  spiritual  condition  of  those 
in  authority,  and  labored  to  save  both  preachers  and  peoj^lc 
from  sin,  and  to  spread  Scriptural  holiness  everywhere. 

Bath  had  many  stories  to  tell  of  the  pirate,  Teach,  who 
was  a  terror  to  the  people  all  along  the  Carolina  coast  for 
a  time.  lie  made  his  headquarters  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Bath  and  deposited  his  booty  there.  There  were  many  stories 
told  of  his  hidden  treasure,  and  many  were  the  excavations 
made  in  search  of  it.  But  the  day  came  when  the  career 
of  the  pirate  came  to  an  end.  A  lieutenant,  Maynard,  of 
the  colonial  navy,  went  in  search  of  Teach,  and  overhauled 
him  in  Pamlico  Sound,  where  there  was  a  battle  to  the 
death.  Teach  was  killed;  his  ship  and  crew  were  captured 
and  brought  to  Bath.  Lieutenant  Maynard  cut  off  the  priate's 
head  and  stuck  it  on  the  prow  of  his  ship,  and  sailed  into 
Bath  in  triumph,  very  much  to  the  relief  of  the  people. 
These  things  v/ere  the  subject  of  conversation  when  I  went 
to  Bath. 

During  my  first  year  on  the  circuit  I  had  no  regailar 
home.  I  had  six  regular  appointments  and  preached  at 
several  school  houses.  My  circuit  was  nearly  forty  miles 
long.  I  had  a  home  in  every  place  where  I  had  a  church, 
and  would  make  my  headquarters  at  that  home,  and  visit 
every  place  and  family  in  the  community.  The  circuit 
assessed  for  my  support  the  princely  sum  of  $320.00,  and 
for  the  Presiding  Elder  the  sum  of  $80.00.     They  generally 


14  Recollections 

paid  about  $300.00  of  this  assessment.  We  had  no  mission- 
ary appropriation  either,  and  the  preacher  had  to  get  along 
as  best  he  could  on  his  meager  salary.  I  took  the  agency 
for  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  circulated  the  Scrip- 
tures throughout  the  county,  as  a  menas  of  doing  good,  as 
well  as  to  supplement  my  meager  income. 

I  held  several  protracted  meetings  during  the  year,  and 
saw  a  number  of  souls  converted;  but  did  not  have  any 
extensive  revivals  during  the  year  1873. 

Rev.  S.  D.  Adams,  my  much  loved  Presiding  Elder,  was 
a  great  help  to  me.  He  came  regularly  to  his  appointments 
in  all  kinds  of  weather,  and  gave  us  much  encouragement 
by  his  preaching  and  fatherly  advice.  He  was  one  of  the 
best  men  I  ever  knew.  He  arranged  for  a  camp  meeting 
at  Ocracoke  in  July,  and  ordered  me  to  go  to  it.  It  was 
my  first  camp  meeting,  and  the  novelty  of  it  made  it  very 
interesting  to  me.  I  had  never  been  down  on  the  coast ; 
that  is,  I  had  never  been  ashore  on  the  coast :  I  had  been  on 
shipboard  along  the  coast ;  but  there  were  things  ashore  that 
were  new  to  me,  among  them  the  millions  of  sand-fiddlers 
that  scamper  around  everywhere.  After  going  to  bed  in  the 
preacher's  tent,  the  Rev.  L.  H.  Gibbons,  who  was  my  bed- 
fellow, asked  the  preacher  stationed  there  how  high  a  sand- 
fiddler  could  climb  ?  The  preacher,  a  brother  Maness,  an- 
swered :  "They  don't  climb,  they  go  down  in  the  sand." 
Brother  Gibbons  said :  "I  saw  one  on  the  ridge  pole  of  this 
tent  today."  I  imagined  that  the  sand-fiddler  was  crawling 
on  me  all  night,  and  did  not  sleep  very  well. 

We  spent  a  week  at  Ocracoke,  and  it  was  a  never-to-be- 
forgotten  experience  with  me.  There  were  a  number  of 
preachers  present,  and  we  had  three  services  in  the  day,  and 
one  at  night.  Old  father  Henry  Gray  was  there,  and  preached 
every  day.  He  was  a  great  man  in  prayer  and  exhortation ; 
but  was  never  considered  a  great  preacher.     But  he  had  a 


AND  ObSEEVATIONS  15 

reputation  for  having  his  prayers  answered;  and  was  a 
veritable  terror  to  evil  doers.  It  is  said,  he  would  pray  for 
the  death  of  incorigible  sinners  who  would  not  quit  their 
sins,  and  come  to  Christ,  and  the  Lord  would  answer  his 
prayers,  and  take  them  away.  For  this  reason  the  hardest 
sinners  feared  him. 

On  December  the  second,  I  was  married  to  Miss  Louise 
Taylor,  of  Beaufort  County,  w4io  for  more  than  forty-two 
years  has  shared  the  labors  and  privations  of  the  itinerant 
preacher's  life  with  me. 

At  the  Conference  held  in  Goldsboro  in  December,  1873, 
I  was  returned  to  Bath  Circuit  for  the  year  1874.  During 
this  year  I  witnessed  my  first  great  revival.  I  was  in  a 
meeting  held  at  Asbury  Church,  situated  five  miles  from 
Washington,  ]^.  C,  I  commenced  a  meeting  there  on  the 
date  of  the  regular  appointment,  and  preached  on  until 
Thursday  night,  without  any  visible  results.  I  had  about 
become  discouraged,  and  was  determined  to  discontinue  the 
meeting.  I  had  preached,  and  called  penitents,  but  no  one 
moved.  I  came  dovvTi  into  the  chancel,  and  commenced  to 
exhort  the  people,  when  suddenly  the  Spirit  of  God  descended 
upon  me,  and  I  spoke  as  I  had  never  spoken  before.  Pres- 
ently the  altar  was  crowded  with  mourners,  and  the  Chris- 
tians began  to  shout,  and  there  was  a  scene  that  surpassed 
anything  I  had  ever  seen.  The  revival  began  and  went  on 
lor  three  weeks,  and  some  hundreds  professed  faith  in  Christ, 
and  v/ere  thoroughly  converted  to  God.  We  knew  nothing 
then  of  the  modern  revival,  and  never  made  the  proposition, 
"If  you  will  accept  Christ,  give  your  hand  to  the  preacher." 

The  revival  influence  spread  all  over  the  circuit ;  and  every 
church  on  the  charge  was  blessed  with  a  genuine  work  of 
grace.  I  held  a  meeting  for  fourteen  days  in  Bath,  and  had 
fourteen  conversions.  This  seemed  a  small  increase  after  the 
great  revival  at  Asbury;  but  the  work  was  genuine,   and 


16  ReCOLLECTIOjSTS 

the  church  was  greatly  revived.  There  was  one  old  man, 
who  attended  the  meeting,  and  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
seek  religion,  but  put  it  off  from  time  to  time.  I  preached 
from  the  text,  "The  harvest  is  passed,  and  the  summer  is 
ended,  and  we  are  not  saved."  This  old  gentleman  heard 
the  sermon,  and  decided  that  he  would  seek  religion  the 
next  service;  but  he  was  called  away  on  some  business,  and 
did  not  get  to  the  next  service,  and  when  he  heard  the  meet- 
ing had  closed,  he  concluded  that  he  was  lost,  and  that  there 
was  no  hope  for  him.  After  spending  a  sleeepless  night, 
he  came  about  daylight  to  the  place  where  I  was  staying  to 
see  me,  and  to  ask  if  there  was  any  hope  for  him.  The 
gentleman  with  v/hom  I  was  stopping  refused  to  wake  me, 
but  told  him  he  would  tell  me  to  go  to  see  him  when  I  got 
up.  He  did  so,  and  I  went  to  see  him  and  read  the  Scrip- 
tures and  prayed  with  him  until  he  was  happily  concerted, 
and  that  made  fiftten  at  that  meeting. 

Rev.  William  Closs^  D.  D. 

Dr.  Closs  was  my  Presiding  Elder  in  1874,  and  for  four 
years.  He  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  I  ever 
knew.  He  was  a  great  preacher,  and  I  think  upon  the 
whole,  the  best  Presiding  Elder  I  ever  knew.  He  was  a 
true  friend  to  the  young  preachers  on  his  District,  if  they 
showed  themselves  worthy.  He  began  his  ministry  on  the 
banks  and  islands  on  the  North  Carolina  coast.  He  trav- 
elled a  circuit  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles 
long,  and  preached  nearly  every  day,  in  private  houses,  and 
school  houses;  for  he  had  few,  if  any,  churches  to  preach 
in.  I  heard  him  say  at  a  Conference  held  in  Raleigh  in 
1874,  that  he  never  saw  his  Presiding  Elder  the  whole 
year,  and  it  was  the  happiest  year  of  his  life.  Wlien  Dr. 
Closs  was  seventy  years  old,  I  knew  him  to  preach  thirty- 
three  sermons  in  thirty  days,   and  travel  every  day  from 


AND  Observations     ^-  lY 

place  to  place.  I  heard  him  preach  the  thirty-third  sermon 
in  Washington,  N.  C,  from  the  text:  "Why  this  waste?" 
His  subject  was  the  "Value  of  the  Christian  ministry."  That 
sermon  stands  out  in  my  memory  today  as  one  of  the 
great  sermons  that  I  have  heard. 

The  first  time  Dr.  Closs  came  to  my  charge,  it  was  to  hold 
the  first  quarterly  conference  for  1874.  The  conference  was 
held  in  Bath.  He  preached  at  eleven  o'clock  on  Satur- 
day, and  announcd  that  there  would  be  preaching  at  early 
candle  light  by  Brother  JSTash.  The  announcement  took  me 
by  surprise,  and  gave  me  a  good  scare.  I  was  afraid  of  what 
really  happened,  that  Dr.  Closs  would  come  out  to  hear  me. 
There  was  nothing  for  me  to  do  but  face  the  situation  as 
best  I  could.  I  preached  from  the  text,  "JSTever  man  spake 
like  this  man."  I  felt  that  I  had  made  a  failure,  and  was 
very  much  embarrassed.  When  we  got  back  to  our  room,  I 
made  the  mistake  of  apologizing  for  my  failure,  and  said 
to  Dr.  Closs  that  we  young  men  did  not  do  ourselves  justice 
in  the  presence  of  our  superiors.  He  replied:  "If  you 
did  yourself  justice,  you  did  not  do  your  subject  justice." 
I  was  more  embarrassed  than  ever;  but  the  good  old  doctor 
burst  into  a  hearty  laugh,  and  I  began  to  feel  that  I  had 
his  sympathy  at  all  events. 

He  was  my  Presiding  Elder  for  four  years ;  and  no 
young  preacher  ever  had  a  better  friend.  He  said  to  me  one 
day:  "When  I  am  dead,  the  people  will  tell  a  gi-eat  many 
anecdotes  on  me,  and  make  it  appear  that  I  was  an  eccentric 
old  man.  I  have  told  you  all  the  stories  that  are  told  on 
me.  I  do  not  object  to  any  of  them  being  told,  if  they  are 
told  truly.  Do  me  the  kindness  when  you  hear  these  stories 
perverted,  to  give  the  true  version  of  them."  I  promised 
him  to  do  it;  and  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  I  have  kept 
that  promise.  Bishop  Pierce  told  me  that  "Dr.  Closs  was 
2 


18  .       Recollections 

the  ablest  debater  he  had  ever  heard  on  any  Conference 
floor."  He  was  the  quickest  at  repartee  of  any  man  I  ever 
knew.  I  remember  an  incident  that  occurred  at  the  session 
of  Conference  held  at  Greensboro  in  1876.  Dr.  Closs  took 
up  an  application  for  deacons  orders  for  a  local  preacher, 
Rev.  Charles  M.  Cook,  from  Washington.  He  represented 
the  case  to  the  Conference,  and  concluded  with  the  remark, 
"It  is  a  perfectly  clear  case.  Bishop,  and  he  ought  to  have 
been  ordained  a  long  time  ago."  Rev.  R.  G.  Barrett  arose 
and  said:  "Dr.  Closs,  is  that  my  old  friend  Charles  Cook 
from  Warrenton?"  Dr.  Closs  replied:  "I  don't  know, 
sir.  If  he  is  any  friend  of  yours  he  has  not  informed  me." 
The  Conference  roared  with  laughter,  and  Bishop  Kava- 
uaugh  joined  heartily  in  the  laugh.  Brother  Barrett  went 
(down  as  if  he  had  been  shot,  and  made  no  further  inquiry. 

The  Conference  of  1874. 

The  North  Carolina  Conference  held  its  session  in  Raleigh 
in  December,  1874.  I  joined  the  Conference  at  that  session. 
Bishop  E.  M.  Marvin  presided.  He  had  more  of  the  unction 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  than  any  man  I  ever  heard  speak.  He 
was  a  rare  man.  I  did  not  reach  Raleigh  in  time  to  be 
examined  with  the  class  for  admission,  and  was  examined 
by  the  Committee  on  Wednesday  morning,  while  the  Con- 
ference was  in  the  first  session.  We  finished  the  exami- 
nation and  reached  the  church  just  before  the  Conference 
adjourned.  Bishop  Marvin  arose,  after  the  announcements 
were  made,  and  sung  "Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings 
flow"  to  the  tune  of  sessions.  I  had  never  heard  that  tune 
before,  and  the  unction  and  power  of  the  Bishop's  singing 
moved  me  to  tears.  I  looked  around  and  nearly  every  one 
I  saw  was  similarly  affected.  The  Bishop  spoke  on  Missions 
Saturday  night,  and  impressed  every  one  in  a  remarkable 
manner.      He   preached   in   Metropolit-an   Hall  on   Sunday 


AND  Observations  19 

morning  at  eleven  o'clock.  His  subject  was:  "Faithful 
service,  and  its  reward."  He  took  for  his  text  the  parable  of 
the  pounds.  Eor  one  hour  and  twenty-five  minutes  he  held 
the  large  audience  spell  bound.  Everybody  I  saw  was 
moved  to  tears.  I  heard  a  local  preacher  say  that  he  was 
not  moved,  and  I  never  had  as  much  respect  for  him  after- 
wards. In  my  simplicity  I  could  not  see  how  any  man  could 
sit  unmoved  under  such  a  sermon. 

Bishop  Marvin  left  the  most  powerful  impression  on  the 
Conference  of  any  man  who  has  visited  it  in  my  day.  He 
preached  the  baccalaureate  sermon  at  Trinity  College  that 
year  from  the  text:  "God  is  my  rock;"  and  the  sermon 
preached  on  that  occasion  was  the  talk  of  the  State  for  a 
great  while.  I  did  not  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  it ; 
and  I  have  always  regretted  that  I  did  not.  I  never  ex- 
pect to  hear  another  man  possessing  so  much  divine  unc- 
tion as  Bishop  Marvin  had.  He  impressed  the  Church 
everywhere  he  went  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  and  I  sup- 
pose there  are  more  men  living  in  the  bounds  of  our  com- 
munion who  bear  his  honored  name,  than  that  of  any  man 
who  ever  lived  among  us. 

I  was  returned  to  the  Bath  Circuit  for  the  year  1875 
from  the  Raleigh  Cnoference.  I  had  extended  my  work 
until  I  had  ten  regular  preaching  places,  and  was  getting 
$500.00  for  my  services.  That  was  about  double  what  I 
received  the  first  year.  But  I  needed  more,  as  I  had  a  wife 
to  care  for. 

On  January  18th,  1875,  I  had  a  son  born  to  me,  and 
naturally  rejoiced  in  the  event.  But  my  wife  v/as  sick  for 
some  months,  and  came  near  dying.  I  moved  to  the  towa 
of  Washing-ton  and  served  my  charge  from  that  point.  Rev. 
A.  R.  Raven  was  stationed  in  "Washington,  and  he  had  lost  his 
wife,  and  I  took  the  hired  house  in  which  he  lived  and  he 
boarded  with  me  that  year.     We  had  a  gracious  revival  in 


20  Recollections 

Washington,  and  I  saw  many  souls  converted  to  God  in 
that  town.  My  wife  was  sick  nigh  unto  death  for  some 
three  months,  and  when  she  recovered,  she  lost  her  sister, 
her  mother,  and  our  little  boy  (we  named  him  Leonidas 
Closs),  all  within  a  few  months  time.  I  do  not  know  how 
we  should  have  borne  up  under  our  troubles,  but  for  the  grace 
of  God,  and  the  comfort  of  religion.  I  look  back  to  that 
time,  and  wonder  at  the  providence  that  subjected  us  to 
such  sore  bereavement,  all  in  such  a  short  time.  But  we 
have  the  assurance  that  all  things  work  together  for  good 
to  them  that  love  God. 

The  Conference  for  1875  met  in  Wilmington,  N.  C. 
Bishop  McTyiere  presided.  That  was  my  first  year  as  a 
member  of  the  Conference  on  trial.  There  was  a  tolerably 
large  class  of  us.  I  cannot  recall  from  memory  the  names 
of  all  who  belonged  to  the  class,  but  W.  S.  Rone,  J.  T. 
Gibbs,  ]Sr.  ]\I.  Journey,  J.  R.  Scroggs  and  several  others  com- 
posed the  class.  Only  three  of  us,  J.  T.  Gibbs,  ISTorth  Caro- 
lina Conference,  J.  R.  Scroggs,  of  the  Western  JSTorth  Caro- 
lina Conference,  and  myself  are  still  on  this  side  of  the  river. 
We  are  growing  old,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  shall 
be  called  to  pass  over.  May  the  good  Lord  keep  us  safely  to 
the  end. 


AND  Observations  21 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Williamston  Circuit. 

I  was  sent  to  the  Williamston  Circuit  from  the  Wilming- 
ton Conference.  I  reached  my  work  very  soon  after  Con- 
ference, and  found  quite  a  hard  field,  and  much  work  to 
do.  The  old  Williamston  Circuit  had  been  divided,  but 
I  had  the  following  appointments:  Williamston,  Hamilton, 
Scotland  JSTeck,  Palmyra,  Jone's  Chapel,  William's  Chapel 
and  Holly  Springs.  The  circuit  was  forty  miles  long,  and 
most  of  the  appointments  were  on  the  Poanoke  Piver. 

I  held  revival  meetings  at  every  appointment  on  the  cir- 
cuit, and  had  some  success  at  every  place.  I  held  a  meet- 
ing at  a  school  house,  a  few  miles  below  Williamston,  where 
we  had  fifty  accessions  to  the  church,  and  organized  a  church 
that  was  called  siloam.  The  county  (Martin)  was  largely 
dominated  by  the  Primitive  Baptists,  and  the  people  were 
not  generally  favorable  to  Methodism,  and  did  not  believe 
in  revival  meetings.  Nothing  very  remarkable  occurred  this 
year  on  the  circuit. 

The  Conference  met  in  Greensboro,  in  December,  1876, 
Bishop  H.  H.  Kavanaugh  presided.  I  was  received  into 
full  connection,  and  ordained  a  deacon  at  this  Conference. 
Bishop  Kavanaugh  preached  a  Thanksgiving  sermon  that  was 
one  of  the  finest  efforts  ever  heard  by  the  ISTorth  Carolina 
Conference.  No  one  who  heard  the  sermon  will  ever  for- 
get it.  The  Bishop  seemed  to  hypnotize  his  audience.  I 
suppose  I  was  completely  under  the  spell  of  his  magnetic 
eloquence  as  anybody;  but  I  was  sitting  by  the  Pev.  John 
W.  Lewis,  one  of  our  old  preachers,  and  Dr.  Closs  was 
sitting  in  the  chancel,  looking  up  at  the  Bishop,  with  his 
head  turned  to  one  side,  and  tears  running  across  his  nose. 
Brother  Lewis  said  to  me :  "Dr.  Closs  is  ugly  when  he  cries, 


22  Recollectio^ts 

and  he  is  ugly  when  he  don't  cry."  That  broke  the  spell 
on  me,  and  I  looked  over  the  congregation,  and  the  people 
seemed  to  be  beside  themselves.  Strong  men  were  weeping, 
and  gazing  at  the  Bishop  as  he  soared  away  on  such  flights 
of  eloquence  as  I  had  never  heard.  I  do  not  believe  that 
1  could  have  told  anything  about  it,  if  Brother  Lewis  had 
not  broken  the  spell  that  bound  me. 

On  the  following  Sunday  nearly  the  whole  of  Greens- 
boro turned  out  to  hear  the  wonderful  preacher.  The  house 
would  not  hold  one-tenth  of  the  people  who  were  anxious  to 
hear.  I  was  among  the  number  to  be  ordained,  and  had  a 
chair  in  front  of  the  chancel.  But  the  Bishop  did  not  come 
up  to  expectation,  and  preached  a  commonplace  sermon.  He 
was  not  a  uniform  preacher.  He  succeeded  beyond  any- 
body at  times  and  again  preached  a  very  ordinary  sermon. 
I  never  expect  to  hear  anything  equal  to  his  Thanksgiving 
sermon  while  I  live. 

From  Greensboro  Conference  I  was  returned  to  the  Wil- 
liamston  Circuit,  which  had  been  enlarged  by  the  addition 
of  several  appointments,  which  had  been  taken  from  the  Wil- 
liamston  Circuit  and  out  of  which  the  Greenville  Circuit  was 
formed;  this  circuit  was  discontinued  and  the  appointments 
were  put  back  on  the  Williamston  Circuit,  and  I  had  twelve 
churches,  and  my  circuit  was  sixty  miles  long.  This  was 
in  18T7,  and  the  greatest  year  for  revivals  I  ever  saw.  We 
had  thirteen  great  revivals  during  the  year.  We  began  a 
meeting  in  Williamston  on  the  third  Sunday  in  January 
that  ran  on  for  thirty-one  days  through  one  of  the  coldest 
winters  I  ever  saw.  But  the  interest  in  the  meeting  was  so 
great  that  no  kind  of  weather  could  keep  the  people  away 
from  the  church.  There  were  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
people  powerfully  converted.  Many  of  those  who  held  to  the 
Primitive  Baptist  faith  were  converted ;  some  of  whom  joined 


AND  Observations  ,  23 

the  Methodist  Church,  and  some  joined  the  Primitive  Bap- 
tist. 

Dr.  Closs  came  to  mj  help,  and  preached  every  day  for 
ten  or  twelve  days.  He  always  believed  that  preaching  the 
gospel  and  saving  men  was  his  principal  work.  There  were 
some  notable  conversions  in  this  meeting,  among  them  Dr. 
Joshua  Taylor,  a  leading  physician  of  Williamston,  who  was 
quite  a  skeptic.  He  became  one  of  the  most  influential  mem- 
bers on  the  charge.  He  was  steward  and  Sunday-school 
superintendent,  and  although  he  had  a  large  practice,  he 
never  failed  to  be  at  Sunday-school  and  church.  He  died 
young,  beloved  by  all  the  people. 

James  Edwin  Moore,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Williamston, 
was  converted  in  the  meeting.  His  father  was  a  Primitive 
Baptist  preacher,  and  he  joined  his  father's  church.  Some 
people  in  the  community  were  so  prejudiced  against  the  meet- 
ing that  they  would  not  go  to  it,  but  became  so  awakened 
that  they  sought  the  Lord  in  their  homes,  and  were  happily 
converted.  It  was  a  great  work  of  grace  and  revolutionized 
the  community. 

The  most  extensive  revival  of  the  year  was  at  Bethel 
Church  in  Pitt  County.  The  revival  began  the  third  Sun- 
day in  August,  and  the  people  came  for  miles  around.  We 
built  an  arbor,  and  preached  under  it  for  three  weeks,  morn- 
ing and  night.  There  were  as  many  as  three  thousand  who 
attended  the  services,  and  fully  five  hundred  were  converted. 
At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  I  raised  two  thousand  dollars 
to  build  a  new  church  there,  and  we  erected  what  at  that 
time  was  the  best  church  in  the  county. 

At  this  meeting  people  fell  helpless  under  conviction,  and 
some  had  to  be  hauled  home  in  this  condition.  The  remark- 
able thing  about  it  was,  those  who  were  most  opposed  to  the 
meeting  were  the  most  powerfully  convicted,  I  remember 
one  old  lady  who  made  it  a  rule  to  abuse  the  Methodists.    She 


24  Eecoluection's 

came  to  the  meeting  out  of  curiosity,  and  was  stricken  speech- 
less, and  remained  in  that  condition  until  she  was  con- 
verted. She  joined  the  Methodist  Church  and  continued  a 
consistent  member  until  the  day  of  her  death. 

There  was  a  Dr.  James,  at  whose  house  I  usually  stopped, 
who  claimed  not  to  believe  in  the  work  at  all.  One  night 
I  saw  him  back  in  the  congregation,  and  I  went  to  him  and 
asked  him  to  go  and  examine  a  man  who  was  strangely 
affected.  He  said,  "^o,  I  cannot  go."  I  said  to  him,  "I 
do  not  understand  the  case,  and  I  want  to  see  if  you  can 
explain  it  to  me."  He  still  refused.  I  asked  him  why  he 
would  not  go,  and  he  said,  "I  am  afraid  I  shall  get  in  the 
same  iix  myself."  I  could  not  get  him  to  investigate  the 
case.  His  wife  was  soundly  converted  and  joined  the  church. 
The  doctor  was  a  good  friend  to  me,  and  subscribed  liberally 
to  build  the  new  church,  but  never  gave  his  heart  to  God. 
He  talked  infidelity  until  I  think  he  persuaded  himself  to 
believe  his  infidel  talk.  He  was  a  good-hearted,  generous 
man;  kind  to  everybody,  but  an  unbeliever  to  the  last.  His 
case  convinced  me  that  a  man  may,  by  persistent  impeni- 
tence, destroy  the  work  of  grace  in  his  heart,  and  put  him- 
self beyond  the  reach  of  repentance  and  faith.  He  lived  to 
a  good  old  age,  and  died  just  as  he  had  lived,  with  no 
evidence  of  acceptance  with  God,  and  no  hope  of  a  better 
life. 


AND  OsSEEVATIOlsrS  25 

CHAPTER  III. 

Greenville  and  Rolesville  Circuits. 

After  two  years  of  strenuous  work  on  the  Williamston 
Circuit,  I  attended  th^  Conference  in  Salisbury,  IST.  C,  in 
1877,  Bishop  D.  S.  Doggett  presided.  He  preached  a  not- 
able memorial  sermon  on  Bishop  Marvin,  who  died  in  St. 
Louis  during  the  session  of  the  iN'orth  Carolina  Conference. 
I  was  sent  to  the  Greenville  Circuit.  This  circuit  was  re- 
formed, and  the  appointments  that  had  been  taken  from 
the  Williamston  Circuit  were  again  placed  with  Greenville, 
and  I  carried  with  me  four  appointments  that  I  had  served 
one  year.  Greenville  is  the  county  seat  of  Pitt  County,  and 
when  I  went  to  that  charge,  religion  at  Greenville,  and  the 
surrounding  country,  was  at  a  low  ebb.  There  was  not  a 
prominent  business  man  in  Greenville  who  was  a  member 
of  any  church.  The  town  was  full  of  bar  rooms,  and  the 
most  of  the  people  patronized  them  liberally.  Profanity  and 
gambling,  and  all  other  forms  of  vice  were  the  order  of  the 
day.  The  town  presented  a  dilapidated  appearance ;  and  the 
only  Christian  force  in  evidence  was  an  organization  of  good 
women,  who  labored  to  keep  the  church  alive,  and  meet  the 
expenses  of  religious  work  by  festivals,  charades,  oyster  sup- 
pers, etc. 

There  was  no  parsonage,  nor  any  habitable  house  for  rent 
in  the  town.  I  found  entertainment  for  myself  and  wife 
and  little  girl  in  the  homes  of  some  members  and  well 
wishers  to  the  church.  I  shall  never  forget  the  kindness  of 
these  friends.  Among  them  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  C.  Pearce, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  B.  Cherry,  and  last,  but  not  least, 
David  Dill  and  his  good  wife. 

I  set  about  to  secure  a  parsonage.  The  good  women  had 
raised  three  hundred  dollars  by  their  efforts  in  various  ways. 


26  KECOLLECTIOlSrS 

There  was  a  rather  dilapidated  house  that  stood  on  a  good 
lot  that  belonged  to  William  Grimes  of  Raleigh,  which  I  was 
informed  could  be  bought  for  one  thousand  dollars.  I  nego- 
tiated for  the  purchased  of  this  property,  and  bargained  for 
it  by  paying  four  hundred  dollars  cash,  and  the  balance  in 
two  years. 

But  when  the  deed  was  sent  down,  the  lawyer  that  repre- 
sented Mr.  Grimes  demanded  the  whole  amount  in  cash.  I 
did  not  know  what  to  do;  and  in  my  preplexity  I  told  my 
old  friend  David  Dill  of  my  trouble.  He  was  the  agent  for 
the  Old  Dominion  Steamship  Company,  and  had  an  office  up 
in  the  town.  When  I  told  him  my  trouble  I  was  at  his 
office.  He  said  to  me,  ''How  much  money  do  you  need  to 
get  the  property?"  I  told  him  six  hundred  dollars.  He 
said,  ''Wait  here  until  I  come  back."  He  went  to  his  house, 
and  was  gone  for  nearly  one  hour.  When  he  returned  he 
had  a  shot  bag  in  his  hand  full  of  silver,  and  said  to  me, 
"Take  this  and  go  and  buy  your  house."  I  said,  "I  shall 
never  be  able  to  thank  you  enough  for  this ;  and  to  secure  you 
I  will  have  a  mortgage  made  to  you  on  the  property."  He 
answered:  "Fix  it  up  to  suit  yourself." 

I  secured  the  property,  and  had  to  spend  about  three  hun- 
dred dollars  more  on  the  house  to  make  it  habitable.  With 
the  help  of  the  good  women  we  soon  raised  the  money,  and 
I  moved  my  family  into  our  parsonage,  and  began  four  years 
of  hard,  but  happy,  and  successful  work  at  Greenville. 

Our  church  in  Greenville  was  in  a  dilapidated  condition. 
The  plastering  overhead  had  begun  to  fall,  and  before  I 
could  get  a  congregation  to  go  in  the  church,  I  had  to  have 
the  plastering  knocked  off.  But  we  went  ahead,  and  soon 
had  a  fine  revival.  There  were  sixty-six  accessions  from 
this  meeting;  the  church  took  on  new  life;  we  made  plans 
for  a  new  churcli,  and  Greenville  Methodism  came  rapidly 
to  the  front. 


AND  Observations  27 

Yf e  erected  a  new  church  on  the  lot  purchased  for  church 
and  parsonage,  at  a  cost  of  $3,500.00. 

It  took  some  time  and  great  effort  to  build  the  church,  and 
when  we  had  it  completed,  we  had  a  District  Conference  for 
the  Washington  District,  at  which  Bishop  W.  M.  Wightman 
presided.  In  all  my  ministry  of  more  than  forty  years,  I 
have  never  attended  such  a  District  Conference.  The  bishop 
was  at  his  best  in  the  pulpit;  the  people  were  full  of  enthu- 
siasm ;  and  best  of  all,  the  Holy  Spirit  was  with  us  in  power. 

Bishop  Wightman  dedicated  the  church.  We  had  to  raise 
twelve  hundred  dollars  to  pay  the  balance  of  the  cost  of  the 
building.  This  we  did  in  less  than  a  half  hour,  and  every 
body  was  happy  over  the  event. 

Kev.  James  E.  Mann,  D.  D.,  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  was 
the  Presiding  Elder;  he  entered  heartily  into  all  my  plans 
and  aided  me  in  every  way  in  his  power.  It  affords  me 
pleasure,  after  the  lapse  of  thirty-four  years,  to  call  up 
the  memory  of  my  association  with  this  good  man. 

He  died  during  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  in 
St.  Louis  in  1890.  I  shall  never  forget  the  last  time  I  saw 
him.  I  was  then  stationed  in  Raleigh.  On  my  way  up  to 
Durham  from  Raleigh,  I  met  him  on  the  train.  He  was  on 
his  way  to  St.  Louis,  the  seat  of  the  General  Conference. 
He  said  to  me:  "Old  fellow,  I  am  going  to  St.  Louis,  and 
may  never  come  back.  If  I  do  not  see  you  any  more,  I 
hope  to  meet  you  in  heaven."  I  said  to  him,  "I  expect  to 
see  you  here  again."  He  shook  his  head  and  said:  "You 
may  not;  but  St.  Louis  is  just  as  near  to  heaven  as  ISTorth 
Carolina."  Before  we  parted  in  Durham,  he  repeated  the 
remark  about  not  coming  back,  and  said  again,  "St.  Louis 
is  as  near  heaven  as  North  Carolina."  It  made  me  feel 
sad;  but  I  thought  it  was  probably  a  gloomy  feeling  that 
possessed  him  resulting  from  leaving  home. 

But  subsequent  events  proved  that  his  impression  was  not 


28  Recollections 

caused  by  the  tliouglit  of  leaving  home.  He  had  a  premoni- 
tion of  his  death.  Before  leaving  ISTew  Bern,  where  he  was 
stationed,  he  went  around  and  settled  all  his  bills  that  he 
owed;  and  when  he  was  told  they  could  stand  until  his  re- 
turn, he  said,  "I  may  not  come  back." 

Another  remarkable  thing  in  connection  with  the  death  of 
Dr.  Mann,  was  told  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Ormand  of  Kins- 
ton.  Mrs.  Ormand  is  the  wife  of  a  prominent  attorney ;  and 
at  the  time  of  her  father's  death,  her  mother  was  visiting  her 
in  Greene  County.  About  the  time  that  Dr.  Mann  died,  his 
wife  sprang  up  and  said  to  her  daughter:  "Genie,  your 
father  is  dead;"  and  went  and  fell  down  on  the  bed  in  incon- 
solable grief.  It  was  twenty-four  hours  after  this  before  the 
telegram  reached  them  informing  them  of  Dr.  Mann's  death. 
I  presume  our  modern  scientists  will  account  for  this  on 
what  they  call  "telepathy". 

Our  Conference  met  in  Charlotte  in  December,  18Y8. 
Bishop  Pierce  presided.  The  Bishop,  who  was  one  of  the 
greatest  preachers  of  his  day,  was  suffering  with  a  throat 
trouble  that  disqualified  him  for  pulpit  work.  He  could 
preside  at  the  Conference,  and  attend  to  all  other  duties  of 
his  office,  but  his  eloquent  tongue  was  silenced  by  disease. 
At  this  Conference  the  plan  for  bonding  the  debt  on  the 
publishing  house  was  under  discussion.  Dr.  O.  P.  Fitz- 
gerald (afterwards  Bishop),  came  to  represent  the  publishing 
house.  He  was  the  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate,  pub- 
lished at  ISTashville,  and  the  general  organ  of  the  Church. 
When  he  made  his  speech  to  the  Conference,  and  explained, 
and  advocated  the  bond  scheme  to  save  the  house ;  Dr.  Closs 
opposed  the  plan,  and  worsted  Dr.  Fitzgerald  in  the  argu- 
ment. Several  of  the  brethren  attempted  to  help  Dr.  Fitz- 
gerald but  Dr.  Closs  would  cut  them  down  with  a  witticism, 
and  it  appeared  that  he  was  about  to  turn  the  Conference 
against  the  plan.      Dr.    Closs  was   my  best  friend,   but   I 


AND  Obseevations  29 

thought  he  was  in  error,  and  I  replied  to  him.  It  was  a 
hazardous  thing  for  a  young  man  to  do,  but  Dr.  Fitzgerald 
did  me  the  honor  to  say,  that  I  was  his  "Blucher  that  turned 
his  Waterloo  into  Austerlitz." 

After  the  discussion  was  over,  an  old  lady  said  to  me: 
^*TE[ow  did  you  dare  to  attack  the  old  lion;  did  you  not  fear 
that  one  stroke  of  his  paw  would  make  an  end  of  you  ?"  I 
told  her  that  my  temerity  was  the  result  of  ignorance,  I  sup- 
posed, as  fools  were  said  to  venture  where  angels  feared  to 
tread. 

I  was  ordained  an  elder  at  this  Conference,  along  with 
seven  others  of  my  class.  I  felt  very  much  relieved,  for  I 
was  under  the  severe  strain  of  bringing  up  my  studies,  and 
of  doing  the  heavy  work  of  my  charge. 

Rev.  A.  W.  Wilson,  D.  D.,  was  missionary  secretary,  and 
attended  the  Conference.  He  represented  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions in  a  masterly  manner,  and  filled  the  pulpit  in  the 
Bishop's  place.  He  was  afterwards  elected  Bishop,  and  has 
been,  and  still  is  one  of  our  great  men. 

I  was  returned  to  the  Greenville  Circuit  for  the  year 
1879,  and  we  had  a  year  of  revivals.  This  year  I  held 
a  imeeting  at  a  school  house  seven  miles  below  Greenville, 
where  we  had  more  than  fifty  conversions,  and  I  organized 
a  church  there;  we  named  the  new  church  Salem. 

We  gave  the  old  church  building  in  Greenville  to  this 
new  congregation,  and  it  was  moved  do"\vn,  and  rebuilt  there. 

One  Sunday  morning  an  old  Englishman,  who  looked  like 
a  tramp  came  to  the  parsonage,  and  asked  where  he  could 
stop,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  travel  on  Sunday.  The  man 
had  a  good  face,  but  was  poorly  dressed.  I  told  him  he 
could  stop  with  me.  It  was  nearly  church  time,  and  I 
asked  him  if  he  would  go  to  church.  He  said  he  was  not 
dressed  well  enough;  but  said  he  was  a  Methodist,  and 
belonged  to  the  English  Wesleyans.  I  went  over  and  preached,. 


30  Recollectioks 

leaving  him  at  the  parsonage  resting.  After  we  had  dinner, 
I  said  to  him:  "You  say  you  are  a  school  teacher?"  He 
answered,  "Yes,  I  have  been  teaching  school  in  California; 
but  decided  to  come  East,  and  secure  me  a  school;  but  I 
have  traveled  until  I  have  spent  all  my  money,  and  sold  all 
my  best  clothes." 

I  said  to  him,  if  you  do  not  object,  I  will  examine  you, 
for  I  want  a  teacher  for  a  school  in  the  country.  He  said  he 
would  be  very  glad  if  I  would  examine  him,  and  satisfy  my- 
self as  to  his  competency  to  teach.  I  gave  him  a  rigid  ex- 
amination on  all  the  ordinary  branches  of  an  English  educa- 
tion, and  became  satisfied  of  his  qualification  to  teach.  I 
sent  him  down  to  the  recently  organized  church,  and  wrote 
one  of  the  leading  men  there  to  give  him  a  trial.  He  estab- 
lished a  school  there,  and  the  influences  of  that  good  old 
man,  who  looked  like  a  tramp,  on  that  community  will  abide 
through  eternity.  That  community  was  one  of  the  toughest 
in  the  country,  but  old  Brother  Bond  (for  that  was  his 
name),  awakened  in  that  community  a  love  of  learning  that 
converted  Black  Jack  (the  name  of  the  section)  into  one  of 
the  best  parts  of  the  county.  I  left  old  Brother  Bond  there 
teaching,  and  serving  the  Lord  when  I  left  the  charge.  I 
was  down  in  that  section  not  long  since,  and  I  found  a 
number  of  college  men  and  women,  who  in  all  probability 
would  never  have  gone  to  college,  but  for  the  influence  of 
the  old  Englishman,  who  awakened  in  the  minds  of  their 
parents  a  desire  for  the  education  of  their  children. 

While  I  was  stationed  at  Greenville  after  a  heated  con- 
test with  Tarboro,  in  a  District  Conference  held  in  Washing- 
ton in  1880,  we  established  a  District  School  for  the  Wash- 
ington District  in  Greenville.  Or  I  should  have  said  we 
located  such  a  school  in  Greenville.  We  bought  six  acres  of 
land,  in  what  is  now  the  heart  of  town,  and  I  raised  $3,000.00 
to  build  a  school  house.     But  when  I  left  the  charge,  the 


ARD  Obseevations  31 

church  gave  the  property  to  citizens  there,  to  have  the  build- 
ing finished  and  run  a  school  there.  If  the  church  had  kept 
the  property,  it  would  have  been  worth  $50,000.00  to  them. 
But  the  District  School  enterprise  never  succeeded  any- 
where in  the  Church,  so  far  as  I  know.  But  I  do  know 
Methodism  lost  a  golden  opportunity,  when  she  failed  to 
carry  out  the  plan  for  a  Methodist  school  for  the  Washington 
District  in  Greenville. 

Christian  education  has  had  a  struggle  for  existence  every- 
where, especially  in  the  South.  It  seems  that  when  the 
church  has  founded  and  nurtured  schools,  until  they  were 
able  to  get  along,  then  a  spirit  of  independency  in  educa- 
tion has  found  some  way  to  alienate  them  from  church  con- 
trol. Then  the  public  schools  have  occupied  the  field  of 
academic  instruction,  and  curtailed  the  support  of  church 
schools ;  and  yet  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  church 
to  keep  her  hold  on  the  educational  work  of  the  country. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  confronting  the 
church. 

The  Conference  of  1880  met  in  Winston,  IST.  C.  Bishop 
John  C.  Keener  presided.  Winston  at  that  time  was  a  new 
and  growing  town.  Our  church  was  too  small  to  hold  the 
Conference,  and  we  met  in  a  large  hall;  if  my  memory 
serves  me  correctly,  it  was  the  city  hall.  The  Conference 
was  well  attended  and  spiritual.  I  was  returned  to  Green- 
ville Circuit  for  the  fourth  time. 

My  last  year  on  the  Greenville  Circuit  was  1881.  The 
Conference  of  that  year  met  in  Durham.  It  was  a  very  inter- 
esting session.  Bishop  Pierce  presided.  The  great  fight  for 
prohibition  came  off  in  that  year.  I  organized  Pitt  County, 
and  canvassed  it  for  the  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic. 
We  had  a  warm  time.  I  was  informed  that  threats  were 
made  by  the  whiskey  forces  to  mob  me,  but  somehow,  I 
never  felt  any  alarm,  and  there  was  no  violence  offered  me. 


32  Recollections 

I  had  an  appointment  to  speak  on  prohibition  at  Pactolus, 
a  village  about  twelve  miles  below  Greenville.  The  whiskey 
forces  secured  a  speaker  in  the  person  of  a  Primitive  Bap- 
tist preacher  by  the  name  of  Alfred  Eoss  to  reply  to  me. 
The  news  went  out  that  there  was  to  be  a  debate  on  the  pro- 
hibition question  between  a  Primitive  Baptist  preacher 
and  a  Methodist  preacher.  That  was  a  drawing  card;  and 
fully  fifteen  hundred  gathered  to  hear  the  discussion.  I 
spoke  on  the  question :  ''Is  the  prohibition  of  the  liquor 
traffic  right  ?"  I  discussed  the  subject  for  an  hour,  and 
endeavored  to  show  that  it  was  right  from  every  point  of 
view.  When  I  finished  German  Bernard,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  that  submitted  the  question  to  the 
people,  spent  some  time  in  an  apology  for  voting  to  submit 
it.  When  he  was  through  Mr.  Ross  got  up  to  reply  to  me; 
and  it  was  to  me  the  most  amusing  speech  I  ever  heard. 

He  commenced  by  saying:  ''Fellow  citizens,  I  am  an 
uneducated  man;  but  I  have  been  studying  dis  here  ques- 
tion by  night,  by  fire  knots ;  I  am  not  a  hired  preacher,  and 
I  have  to  work  for  my  living.  Dis  Methodist  preacher,  who 
has  been  trying  to  take  your  liberties  away,  has  a  wagin 
load  of  books,  and  has  nothing  to  do  but  read  'em.  But 
I  am  opposed  to  dis  question  because  it  has  sprung  up  in  de 
dark;  I  am  opposed  to  it  because  it  was  sprung  by  de 
wimmin  and  de  clergy;  I  am  opposed  to  it  because  it  is  de 
tail  of  de  dragon  spoke  on  in  de  vevulation  dat  will  drag 
down  a  third  of  de  stars,  ah."  I  took  notes  of  this  remark- 
able speech,  and  give  his  introduction  verbation,  as  well  as 
I  am  able  to  express  it  in  his  language.  I  expected  him 
to  speak  two  or  three  hours ;  but  to  my  surprise  he  ran  out 
in  twenty-five  minutes,  and  there  was  no  more  argument  in 
the  whole  speech,  than  there  is  in  the  sentence  I  have  quoted 
above. 

When  I  rose  to  reply,  he  objected,  and  said  if  I  made 


AND  Observations  33 

another  speech,  I  would  be  doubling  teams  on  him.  I  told 
him  that  I  was  going  to  speak,  and  he  could  reply  if  he 
chose  to  do  so.  I  was  told  that  the  plan  was  to  mob 
me  if  I  attempted  to  answer  him.  I  knew  nothing  of  this; 
but  a  great  many  of  my  friends  were  apprised  of  it,  and 
went  there  armed.  I  was  afterwards  informed,  if  any  attack 
had  been  made  on  me  some  one  would  have  been  killed.  As 
there  was  nothing  to  reply  to  in  Ross's  speech,  I  spent  about 
forty-five  minutes  in  a  humorous  speech,  in  which  I  ridiculed 
the  old  brother  until  he  never  got  over  it.  There  was  an 
old  gentleman  present,  who  belonged  to  the  anti-prohibition 
side,  who,  seeing  his  champion  made  a  laughing  stock  of, 
left  the  meeting.  He  passed  a  store,  where  one  of  the  mer- 
chants had  stayed  to  look  after  the  store  during  the  discus- 
sion. The  merchant  came  out  and  said  to  this  old  gentle- 
man: ''How  is  the  debate  going."  The  old  gentleman  did 
not  stop,  but  said:  "Xash  is  giving  old  Ross  hell."  My 
friends  laughed  at  me  about  it,  and,  said  they  did  not  know 
that  I  dealt  in  that  article. 

While  I  was  away  on  the  circuit  one  night  some  one 
put  a  long  bar  room  sign  on  the  parsonage  porch,  and  set 
an  empty  bottle  at  each  end  of  it.  I  had  a  colored  man 
servant,  and  when  he  came  to  look  after  his  business,  he 
called  my  wife,  and  told  her  there  was  an  old  bar  room 
sign  on  the  front  porch.  She  went  to  see  it,  and  said : 
"Charles,  the  Lord  sent  that  thing  here,  if  the  devil  brought 
it.  Take  it,  and  cut  it  up,  as  we  are  about  out  of  kindling 
wood."  Charles  did  it,  and  when  I  came  home  I  found  a 
fine  pile  of  kindling  wood  in  the  kitchen,  as  the  sign  was 
about  twelve  feet  long,  one  and  a  half  inches  thick,  and 
sixteen  inches  wide.  We  never  knew  to  whom  the  sign 
belonged;  nor  ever  heard  anything  more  about  it. 

The  whiskey  crowd  beat  us  in  the  State  by  over  one  hun- 
dred thousand;  but  our  labor  was  not  in  vain,  for  the  seed 
3 


34  Recollections 

sown  in  that  campaign  brought  a  triumph  for  prohibition  in 
1908. 

The  sentiment  for  temperance,  and  prohibition  in  Pitt 
County  has  grown  ever  since.  Greenville  is  at  this  time  one 
of  the  most  progressive  towns  in  the  State  and  the  people  no 
where  in  the  State,  or  any  where  else,  for  that  matter,  are 
more  genuinely  in  favor  of  prohibition  than  the  people  of 
Greenvile  and  Pitt  County,  The  county  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  best  in  the  State  of  IN^orth  Carolina ;  and  the  in- 
crease in  material  prosperity  has  been  greater  than  in  any 
other  county  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  I  look  back  with 
pleasure  upon  the  years  of  toil  spent  in  that  good  old  county, 
and  hope  for  a  continuance  of  prosperity,  and  moral  and  re- 
ligious growth  among  them  for  years  to  come. 

From  the  Conference  that  met  in  Durham  in  1881,  I  v/as 
sent  to  the  Rolesville  Circuit,  in  Wake  County.  This  was  a 
large  circuit  with  seven  appointments,  covering  territory 
nearly  fifty  miles  long.  The  country  was  rough,  and  the 
roads  were  bad;  especially  in  winter.  ISTot  long  after  get- 
ting to  the  circuit,  my  horse  took  fright  while  eating  out 
of  a  cracker  box  at  Andrew  Chapel  Church,  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  county,  and  ran  against  a  tree  and  killed  him- 
self. I  was  twentj^-five  miles  from  home,  and  afoot.  A 
kind  brother  lent  me  a  mule,  and  on  Monday  I  drove  into 
Raleigh,  and  bought  me  another  horse.  This  little  incident 
may  not  seem  worth  telling;  but  the  loss  of  a  good  horse,  on 
a  large  circuit,  is  an  event  of  importance  to  a  poor  Metho- 
dist preacher,  who  gets  about  enough  salary  to  make  ends 
meet,  without  any  such  misfortunes.  I  felt  very  helpless 
when  I  found  myself  afoot  with  no  money  to  replace  my 
horse.  But  a  good  man  who  dealt  in  horses  was  willing 
to  trust  me  for  another,  and  I  lost  no  time  from  my  work  by 
the  loss  of  my  horse. 

The  year  1882,  my  first  year  on  the  Rolesville  Circuit, 


AND  Observations  35 

was  a  year  of  hard  work,  but  we  had  several  good  meetings. 
My  wife  had  a  long  attack  of  fever,  and  came  near  dying. 
The  people  were  kind  to  us ;  and  we  had  an  especial  friend  in 
Mrs.  J.  R.  Fleming,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Fleming.  If  she 
had  been  a  sister,  she  could  not  have  been  more  faithful,  or 
helpful  to  us.  In  addition  to  this  we  had  a  colored  servant 
whose  faithfulness  is  worthy  of  everlasting  remembrance. 
Her  name  was  Nancy;  I  do  not  recall  her  surname;  but  a 
more  faithful  friend  v/e  never  had.  Sometimes  I  think  v/e 
show  ingratitude  in  not  having  such  faithful  colored  serv- 
ants in  everlasting  remembrance.  My  wife  was  sick  with 
fever  for  thirty-one  days,  and  unconscious  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  time.  We  had  no  trained  nurses  then  to  call  in 
to  help  us ;  and  could  only  look  to  faithful  servants  and 
kind  friends  for  help. 

My  son,  Marvin  W.,  was  born  in  Greenville,  and  Wight- 
man  was  born  in  Rolesville.  My  family  consisted  of  my 
wife  and  three  children,  all  small,  and  I  was  much  of  my 
time  away  on  my  large  circuit ;  so  that  my  wife  had  a  lonely 
time  in  our  little  parsonage  home ;  and  we  were  much  depend- 
ent on  our  faithful  servant  and  our  kind  neighbors.  ISTo  one 
knows  the  trials  of  the  itinerant  preacher  and  his  family 
but  those  who  experience  these  hardships. 

Rev.  S.  D.  Adams  was  again  my  Presiding  Elder,  and 
he  frequently  came  and  spent  a  week  Avith  us  on  his  rounds, 
and  these  visits  are  treasured  among  our  most  precious  mem- 
ories. It  may  not  be  of  interest  to  the  general  reader  to 
speak  of  these  commonplace  every  day  things ;  but  if  they 
serve  to  put  our  people  in  still  closer  touch  and  deeper  sym- 
pathy with  the  hard  working,  seK-sacrificing  preacher  they 
will  not  be  told  in  vain. 

While  on  the  Rolesville  Circuit  we  had  one  notable  re- 
vival ;  in  fact,  we  had  several  great  meetings ;  but  I  will 
speak  of  this  one,  because  of  the  wonderful  display  of  divine 


36  Recollections  ^ 

power.  The  meeting  was  held  at  a  church  called  Shady 
Grove,  about  eight  miles  west  of  Raleigh.  I  had  appointed 
the  meeting  to  begin  on  the  second  Sunday  in  August;  but 
we  had  a  good  meeting  in  Rolesville,  and  I  did  not  wish 
to  leave  it  when  my  time  came  to  go  to  Shady  Grove.  I  got 
Brother  Joseph  Wheeler,  who  was  stationed  at  what  was 
then  known  as  Brookljoi  and  Macedonia  Charge,  in  West 
Raleigh,  to  go  out  and  hold  the  meeting  for  me  until  I 
could  get  there.  Brother  Edward  Howland,  who  was  on 
the  superannuate  list,  and  lived  in  Gary,  also  went ;  and 
these  good  men  did  all  they  could  to  keep  the  work 
going  on.  But  the  people  at  Shady  Grove  demanded  the 
presence  of  the  pastor;  and  on  Wednesday  evening  one  of 
my  stewards,  a  brother  Smith,  came  down  after  me ;  he  said 
if  I  did  not  go  it  would  cause  dissatisfaction.  He  told  me 
there  was  a  Miss  Smith,  who  was  leader  among  the  young 
people,  who  had  a  crowd  of  her  friends  there,  and  they 
were  disturbing  the  meeting,  and  paid  no  attention  to  the 
preachers. 

I  told  him  I  did  not  think  I  could  do  any  more  than 
the  brethren  who  were  there.  But  nothing  would  do  but 
I  must  leave  the  meeting  in  Rolesville,  and  go  to  Shady 
Grove.  Brother  T.  B.  Reeks,  one  of  our  old  preachers, 
happened  to  be  in  Rolesville  on  a  visit  to  his  daughter.  So 
I  got  him  to  preach  at  Rolesville  for  me,  and  went  to  Shady 
Grove.  I  made  Miss  Smith  a  subject  of  prayer,  and  while 
I  was  preaching  at  eleven  o'clock,  from  the  first  three  verses 
of  the  Fortieth  Psalm,  the  Spirit  of  God  mightily  awakened 
the  young  lady,  and  she  sprang  up,  and  screamed,  and  rushed 
to  the  mourners'  bench,  crying  for  mercy. 

She  was  followed  by  thirty  or  more  of  her  young  friends, 
who  came  to  the  altar  for  prayer.  There  was  a  la;)Tnan 
present,  who  was  a  mighty  man  in  prayer.  Brother  W.  C. 
Bledsoe.     I  stopped  preaching,  and  called  on  him  to  lead 


AND  ObSEEVATIONS  37 

in  prayer.  He  prayed  with  great  power,  and  while  he  was 
praying  thirteen  persons  were  powerfully  converted.  Brother 
Bledsoe  never  closed  his  prayer,  but  began  to  shout,  and 
shouted  until  I  feared  he  would  die.  Miss  Smith  was  not 
converted.  She  went  home  deeply  penitent.  The  next  morn- 
ing she  did  not  get  to  church  until  Brother  Wheeler  had 
begun  his  sermon.  She  came  in,  and  went  to  the  altar, 
and  knelt  down.  It  was  not  long  before  she  was  power- 
fully converted,  and  rose  shouting.  Brother  Wheeler  said: 
"Bless  God,  that  is  better  than  preaching."  We  commenced 
singing,  and  the  altar  was  again  filled  with  penitents.  The 
meeting  went  on  for  ten  days.  There  was  not  an  invitation 
given  to  any  one  to  come  to  the  altar;  and  yet  there  were 
over  one  hundred  happy  conversions. 

I  spent  a  night  in  Kaleigh  during  the  meeting,  and  on 
my  way  back  to  Shady  Grove  the  next  morning,  when  I 
was  about  three  miles  from  the  church,  I  met  a  man.  He 
asked  me  if  I  had  heard  the  news  ?  I  asked  him,  "What 
news  ?"  He  said,  "Mr.  Riley  Yearby  was  converted  last 
night."  I  drove  on  about  a  mile,  and  met  a  colored  man. 
He  hailed  me  and  asked  if  I  had  heard  the  news  ?  I  replied : 
"What  news  ?"  He  said,  "Mr.  Riley  Yearby  was  converted 
last  night." 

Mr.  Yearby  was  a  prominent  citizen  in  the  community: 
but  never  made  any  pretension  to  religion.  He  was  about 
sixty  years  old.  He  was  at  the  meeting  on  Sunday,  and 
the  text  was :  "O  Lord,  I  have  heard  Thy  speech,  and  was 
afraid :  O  Lord,  revive  Thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years, 
in  the  midst  of  the  years  make  known;  in  wrath  remembei 
mercy."  Hab.  3  :2.  God  spoke  to  him.  and  he  was  so  awak- 
ened he  could  rest  neither  day  or  night  until  he  gave  his 
heart  to  God  and  found  peace  in  believing.  When  I  got 
to  the  church,  I  saw  a  crowd  gathered  in  the  grove.  I  went 
up,  and  found  that  Mr.  Yearby  was  telling  his  experience. 


38  Recollections 

How  lie  had  been  so  awakened  he  could  not  rest  day  or  night. 
How  he  had  tried  to  throw  off  his  convictions,  until  he 
became  so  miserable  he  could  stand  it  no  longer.  About  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  went  to  his  wife's  room  to  wake 
her  up,  and  ask  her  to  pray  for  him;  but  when  he  got  to 
her  room  door  he  was  powerfully  converted.  He  told  the 
story  over  and  over;  but  he  always  broke  down,  and  began 
to  rejoice  when  he  got  to  the  door  of  his  wife's  room. 

He  became  an  earnest  Christian,  and  died  a  consistent 
church  member. 

Scenes  like  this  are  not  common  now,  and  we  are  coming 
to  the  point  when  they  are  discounted.  But  when  the  Lord 
pours  out  his  Spirit,  such  effects  always  follow.  This  kind 
of  revival  is  after  the  type  of  Pentecost ;  and  it  is  just  this 
kind  of  work  the  church  needs  today.  Our  present  day  re- 
vivals have  too  much  of  the  human,  and  too  little  of  the 
divine  in  them.  All  emotion  is  discounted  by  some,  and 
all  they  desire  is  for  men  without  any  feeling  of  conviction, 
or  any  assurance  of  pardon,  simply  to  come  forward  and  give 
evidence  that  they  accept  Christ. 

1  am  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  God  is  always  ready  to 
accept  the  penitent,  trusting  sinner;  and  freely  to  forgive 
all  who  come  to  Him  through  Christ.  But  a  repentance  with- 
out sorrow,  and  a  faith  without  trust  will  never  bring  the 
assurance  of  forgiveness,  and  a  sense  of  peace  with  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  ITorth  Carolina  Conference  met  in  Raleigh  in  De- 
cember, 1882.  Bishop  John  C.  Keener  presided.  Dr. 
Braxton  Craven,  the  founder  and  President  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, had  died  during  the  year.  The  college  was  in  debt,  and 
had  lost  its  head.  The  prospect  for  the  institution  was 
rather  gloomy.  As  long  as  Dr.  Craven  lived,  he  was  a 
whole  faculty  in  himself,  and  the  institution  could  live  in 
spite  of  poverty,  and  in  the  face  of  adversity.     But  he  had 


AND  Observations  39 

fallen  suddenly  at  his  post,  and  tiis  equal  was  not  to  be 
found  anywhere.  At  his  funeral  the  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  said:  "  When  we  buried  Dr.  Craven  we  felt  we 
had  very  little  left."  The  college  was  six  thousand  dollars 
in  debt,  and  the  money  had  to  be  raised  immediately.  Bishop 
Keener  took  the  matter  in  hand  to  raise  the  amount, 
I  shall  never  forget  how  he  took  me  off,  when  I  proposed  to 
be  one  of  sixty  to  pay  the  debt.  He  said :  'T  don't  want  any 
subscriptions  with  a  string  to  them.  If  you  have  a  hundred 
dollars  to  give  to  save  the  college,  have  faith  enough  to  give 
it,  and  trust  Go3.  to  move  the  hearts  of  the  others  to  raise 
the  amount."  I  took  him  at  his  word,  and  gave  the  hun- 
dred dollars  unconditionally,  and  the  six  thousand  was  raised. 
Trinity  went  forward  with  varying  fortunes  until  at  last 
it  was  moved  to  Durham,  of  which  I  will  speak  when  I  reach 
the  time  of  the  event. 

I  was  returned  to  the  Bolesville  Circuit,  and  spent  the 
year  1883  on  that  charge.  We  had  a  District  Conference 
that  year  at  Plank  Chapel,  now  as  then  on  the  Tar  River 
Circuit.  I  was  asked  to  preach  on  Sunday  morning  out  un- 
der the  trees.  There  were  about  six  thousand  people  in  at- 
tendance; and  the  church*  and  an  arbor  that  was  provided, 
would  accommodate  a  small  part  of  them.  Rev.  W.  H.  Moore 
was  preacher  in  charge  of  the  circuit,  and  Rev.  S.  D.  Adams 
was  Presiding  Elder.  They  came  to  me  and  asked  me  to 
preach  out  of  doors.  I  had  preached  a  missionary  sermon 
on  Friday,  and  was  rather  inclined  not  to  preach.  I  told 
the  brethren  to  get  some  other  preacher,  but  they  insisted 
that  I  should  preach.  I  had  made  no  preparation,  and  did 
not  know  what  to  preach.  Going  dovm  where  I  v/as  expected 
to  preach,  I  drew  out  a  note  book  from  my  pocket  in  which 
I  had  several  sermon  sketches,  to  select  some  subject,  when 
my  eye  fell  on  a  sketch  from  Isaiah  28th  chapter  and  21st 
verse:  "For  the  bed  is  horter  than  that  a  man  can  stretch 


40  Recollections 

himself  on  it:  and  the  covering  narrower  than  that  he  can 
wrap  himself  in  it."  I  had  no  idea  of  producing  a  sensa- 
tion. The  fact  is,  if  I  had  had  time  to  prepare  for  that  occa- 
sion 1  would  not  have  chosen  that  text  and  subject.  But  the 
Lord  blessed  me,  and  gave  me  liberty,  and  for  an  hour  I 
preached  with  unusual  power  for  me.  Rev.  W.  C.  ISTorman 
preached  under  the  arbor,  and  Dr.  M.  L.  Wood,  who  at  that 
time  was  President  of  Trinity  College,  preached  in  the 
church.  They  both  finished  their  sermons,  and  dismissed 
their  congregations  before  I  was  through.  I  had  about 
three  thousand  to  hear  me,  and  enlarged  on  my  subject  ac- 
cordingly. 

When  I  dismissed  my  congregation,  they  were  spreading 
the  abundant  feast  of  good  things  for  dinner  that  had  been 
brought  for  the  occasion.  I  passed  by  Brother  Norman  and 
he  stopped  me  and  asked  what  I  had  preached  about.  I  told 
£im,  and  asked  him  why  he  asked.  He  said :  "I  never  heard 
so  much  about  a  sermon  in  my  life;  but  nobody  could  tell 
me  your  text."  He  said:  "I  asked  Dr.  Peter  Foster,  and  he 
said  it  was  the  greatest  sermon  he  ever  heard;  but  he  did 
not  remember  where  the  text  was,  but  it  was  about  a  short 
bed  and  a  narrow  blanket."  No,  one  was  more  surprised 
than  I  was  at  the  effect  produced.  I  was  told  afterwards 
that  there  was  a  rather  eccentric  local  preacher  who  heard 
the  sermon,  who  preached  on  the  subject  in  all  the  surround- 
ing country.  Twenty  years  afterwards  I  was  stationed  in 
Henderson,  which  is  only  a  few  miles  from  Plank  Chapel, 
and  the  first  thing  I  heard  when  I  got  there  was  some- 
tliing  about  that  sermon.  I  was  requested  several  times  to 
preach  it  again,  but  I  never  attempted  it.  Nor  have  I  ever 
preached  from  that  text  since. 

I  think  it  was  a  kind  of  an  inspiration  that  made  the 
effort  a  success ;  and  I  have  never  felt  that  I  could  preach 


AND  Observations  41 

tliat  sermon  again  as  it  was  preached  on  that  occasion.  I 
do  not  know  that  anyone  was  converted  under  it;  and  if 
it  only  produced  a  sensation  it  is  doubtful  as  to  what  good 
was  accomplished. 


42  Eecollectio:s^s 

CHAPTEE  IV. 

The  Leasburg  Ciecuit. 

Our  conference  convened  in  Statesville  in  December, 
1883.  Bishop  Keener  presided  again.  I  was  anxious  to  get 
to  a  place  where  I  could  place  mj  daughter  in  school.  She 
had  been  going  to  a  primary  school,  and  was  about  fourteen 
years  of  age.  She  was  not  prepared  for  college,  and  was 
rather  too  young  to  send  away  from  home.  There  was  a 
good  school  at  Franklinton;  and  Brother  Adams  wanted  me 
to  go  there.  But  at  Conference  he  came  to  me  and  said: 
"I  cannot  tell  you  anything  now;  for  we  are  all  up  in  the 
air,  and  you  must  not  be  surprised  at  anything."  I  told 
him  that  I  knew  he  would  do  the  best  he  could  for  me  and 
tTie  church,  and  I  would  be  contented  with  whatever  was 
done. 

I  was  sent  to  the  Leasburg  Circuit  in  Caswell  and  Per- 
son Counties.  Rev.  Solomon  Lea  had  a  good  school  there 
to  which  I  sent  my  daughter,  and  where  she  was  prepared 
for  college.  Brother  Lea,  and  his  daughter,  Miss  Willie, 
were  very  fine  teachers.  Brother  Lea  was  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  Greensboro  Female  College;  now  Greensboro  Col- 
lege for  Women.  He  was  a  local  preacher,  and  did  great 
good  in  his  day.  He  lived  to  be  nearly  one  hundred  years 
old. 

The  Leasburg  Circuit  was  divided  just  before  I  went  to 
it.  Rev.  H.  H.  Gibbons  was  my  predecessor;  and  under 
his  ministry  several  appointments  were  taken  off,  and  a  new 
circuit  was  formed.  But  the  people  were  not  satisfied  with 
the  division,  and  those  appointments  were  put  back  the 
second  year  I  was  on  the  charge.  My  first  year  there  were 
six  churches;  the  second  year  there  were  ten  appointments; 
and  they  all  required  Sabbath  preaching. 

The  first  year  I  was  there  we  had  a  number  of  good  re- 


AND  Obseevations  43 

vivals.  But  the  interest  grew,  and  the  second  year  we  had 
several  sweeping  revivals.  We  had  a  meeting  at  Lea's  Cha- 
pel in  which  nearly  everybody  in  the  community  was  con- 
verted. Several  of  the  leading  men  in  the  community  came 
into  the  church.  Among  them  were  Col.  C.  S.  Winstead  and 
A.  J.  Hester,  Esq.  Mr.  Hester  belonged  to  a  Primitive 
Baptist  family.  His  mother,  a  lady  over  seventy  years  old, 
who  had  been  reared  in  that  faith,  was  converted  and  joined 
the  church. 

When  the  meeting  at  Lea's  Chapel  began,  I  preached  very 
plainly  against  sin  of  every  kind;  especially  against  drink- 
ing and  drunkenness.  I  did  not  know  that  any  of  the  mem- 
bers of  my  charge  were  guilty  of  the  things  I  condemned. 
I  saw,  however,  that  several  members  were  not  as  cordial 
as  they  had  been  in  greeting  me.  I  learned  afterwards  that 
one  of  my  stewards  had  condemned  me  in  rather  strong 
terms  during  a  recess.  We  had  two  services,  and  dinner  on 
the  ground  between  the  services.  Mr.  Hester  was  standing 
by,  and  said :  "Gentlemen,  I  am  not  a  Methodist,  but  if  the 
Bible  is  true,  your  preacher  is  preaching  the  truth;  and  if 
1  were  a  Methodist  I  would  hold  up  his  hands.'^  This  had 
a  powerful  effect.  That  afternoon,  Mr.  Hester  went  to  the 
altar  and  was  converted.  That  gave  the  meeting  a  wonder- 
ful impetus.  A  few  days  afterwards  we  had  an  experience 
meeting,  and  that  steward  told  the  facts  above  stated,  and 
said  he  had  not  been  living  right,  but  sought  and  found  par- 
don. He  further  stated  that  he  had  been  thinking  for  some 
time  that  he  would  resign,  as  he  was  tired  of  being  bothered 
with  the  work  of  a  steward ;  but  he  added,  "I  have  made  up 
my  mind  to  be  a  faithful  steward,  and  if  I  get  out,  you  will 
have  to  put  me  out." 

The  church  took  on  new  life,  and  has  been  a  strong  and 
growing  church  ever  since.  A  number  of  those  who  were  con- 
verted at  that  meeting  have  crossed  over  the  river ;  but  their 


44  Recollections 

children  have  taken  their  places,  and  are  living  to  the  glory 
of  God.  A.  J.  Hester  is  among  the  number  who  went  to  his 
heavenly  home  a  year  or  two  since.  He  was  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  Person  County,  respected  and  loved  by  all  who  knew 
him.  As  I  think  of  those  years  of  labor  and  toil  for  the  salva- 
tion of  men,  I  wonder  that  God  blessed  me  so  much,  as  un- 
worthy as  I  have  always  been  of  His  blessings  and  His 
mercy  and  grace. 

We  had  another  remarkable  revival  at  Concord  Church 
in  Person  County.  The  young  people  of  that  community 
were  very  much  inclined  to  worldliness ;  and  the  Christmas 
holidays  were  given  up  to  balls,  and  other  kinds  of  worldli- 
ness. I  decided  to  hold  a  protracted  meeting  at  Concord 
during  Christmas  week.  I  preached  on  Sunday,  and  an- 
nounced services  through  the  week.  The  congregation  was 
filled  with  consternation.  Even  the  old  people  thought  it 
an  unheard  of  thing,  and  were  frank  to  say  that  they  did 
not  think  we  could  have  a  revival  at  Christmas.  I  asked 
them,  Why  not  ?  I  told  them  I  thought  it  a  very  appropriate 
time,  as  it  was  the  time  of  celebrating  the  birth  of  Christ; 
and  it  seemed  there  could  be  no  more  appropriate  time  for 
a  revival.  I  exhorted  all  to  come,  and  see  what  the  Lord 
would  do  for  us.  They  came,  and  the  revival  started  at 
once.  The  church  was  greatly  blessed,  and  a  great  many 
were  converted,  and  joined  the  church.  After  the  meeting 
closed,  everybody  said  it  was  the  best  Christmas  they  had 
ever  had.  They  all  with  one  voice  said  we  want  a  revival 
every  Christmas.  But  I  never  held  another  meeting  at 
Christmas  at  Concord. 

I  remember  one  notable  conversion  in  that  meeting.  It 
was  that  of  a  doctor.  He  had  been  a  fine  physician,  but  had 
fallen  under  the  influence  of  whiskey,  and  had  become  a 
drunkard,  and  had  lost  his  practice.  His  wife  was  a  good 
woman,   and  he  had  become  reduced  in  circumstances   so 


AND  Observations  45 

that  he  was  living  with  his  family  in  a  tenant  house  on  his 
wife's  mother's  farm.  He  was  powerfully  converted.  I  visi- 
ted him  in  his  humble  home,  and  spent  the  night  with  him 
and  his  family.  When  I  drove  up,  his  little  daughter  came 
out  to  meet  me,  clapping  her  hands,  and  saying  "Uncle 
ISTash,  we  are  all  so  happy.  Papa  does  not  drink  any  more, 
and  we  have  family  prayers  now."  I  went  in  and  found 
all  the  family  happy.  The  doctor  had  resumed  his  practice ; 
and  all  the  people  showed  a  disposition  to  help  him  on.  He 
lived  a  consistent  Christian  life  for  something  more  than  a 
year,  and  did  a  fine  practice.  But  he  went  to  Roxboro  one  day 
and  some  emissary  of  the  devil  prevailed  on  him  to  take  a 
glass  of  beer.  The  doctor  refused  at  first,  and  told  his  tempt- 
er, "You  know  I  dare  not  touch  liquor  of  any  kind."  But 
the  enemy  in  the  disguise  of  a  friend,  said  to  him:  "We 
all  know  you  are  a  converted  man,  and  a  glass  of  beer  will 
not  hurt  you."  He  took  the  glass  of  beer,  and  then  another 
and  drank  whiskey,  and  got  drunk.  He  became  a  raving 
maniac,  and  never  had  another  lucid  moment.  When  I 
heard  that  he  was  confined  in  the  jail  at  Roxboro,  I  made 
application  and  got  him  into  the  asylum  in  Morganton, 
where  he  died  shortly  afterward.  That  was  the  saddest  case 
I  ever  knew. 

My  circuit  embraced  the  town  of  Milton;  but  I  had 
no  church  in  Milton.  I  preached  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  once  a  month.  The  stated  supply  of  that  church 
was  Mr.  T.  U.  Faucette.  We  became  great  friends,  and  I 
enjoyed  our  association  very  much.  I  held  a  revival  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  which  there  was  a  number  of  con- 
versions. I  never  said  a  word  to  any  of  the  converts  about 
joining  my  church.  I  had  a  church  about  two  miles  from 
to^vn  called  Connelley's.  Three  young  men  who  were  con- 
verted joined  the  church  in  the  country.  One  said  to  one 
of  those  young  men:  "Charlie,  if  I  were  you  I  would  not 


46  EECOLI.ECTIONS 

join  that  little  church  out  there  in  the  country;  if  you  do 
jou  won't  get  into  society."  Charlie  said,  "I  had  not  thought 
of  that.  I  am  trying  to  get  to  heaven."  That  got  out,  and 
was  much  laughed  about;  and  every  one  thought  Charlie 
had  the  right  conception  of  church  membership. 

I  was  preaching  in  the  Presbji;erian  Church  one  night, 
and  incidentally  alluded  to  dancing.  The  belle  of  the  towTi 
who  was  a  leader  in  the  dances  was  there  with  her  escort. 
She  sprung  up,  and  left  the  church  in  a  hurry.  Her  escort 
followed  her,  and  there  was  a  commotion  in  the  congrega- 
tion. I  paused,  and  remarked:  ''I  am  preaching  in  this 
church  by  courtesy:  I  do  not  know  that  I  will  ever  preach 
here  again;  but  I  must  preach  the  gospel  as  I  understand 
it.  If  there  are  others  who  disapprove  of  what  I  say,  they 
are  at  liberty  to  leave.  I  will  wait  until  all  who  desire  to 
leave  will  go."  ]Sro  one  else  left.  I  was  told  the  next  morn- 
ing that  a  prominent  merchant  in  town  said  I  ought  to  be 
caned.  I  told  my  informer  to  go  and  tell  that  gentleman 
where  he  could  find  me,  and  if  he  wanted  to  cane  me 
he  could  come  and  do  it.  My  friend  went  immediately  and 
delivered  the  message.  My  would  be  chastiser  got  frighten- 
ed, and  said:  "You  ought  not  to  have  told  that  preacher 
what  I  said;  for  I  believe  from  his  looks,  if  I  were  to  at- 
tempt to  cane  him,  he  would  not  leave  a  grease  spot  of  me." 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  man  became  a  good  friend  of  mine, 
-and  I  spent  many  pleasant  hours  in  his  splendid  home. 

The  young  lady  sent  me  a  note,  apologizing  for  leaving 
the  church,  and  saying  that  she  had  a  headache.  But  her 
escort  wrote  me  a  very  threatening  letter ;  and  I  informed 
him  where  he  could  find  me;  but  I  never  heard  anything 
further  from  him.  Instead  of  the  incident  shutting  me  out 
of  the  church,  I  was  invited  to  have  a  regular  appointment 
there,  and  the  next  time  I  preached  there  the  house  was 
jpacked. 


AND  Observations  47 

I  do  not  believe  in  abuse  in  the  pulpit,  nor  do  I  believe 
in  coarseness  or  slang.  I  think,  and  have  always  thought, 
that  preachers  should  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God.  If  people 
become  offended  at  the  gospel  stated  in  a  dignified  manner, 
I  think  that  the  preacher  should  be  courageous  enough  to 
stand  by  the  truth,  and  not  apologize  for  uttering  it.  This 
course,  backed  by  a  loving  spirit,  will  always  win.  I  have 
been  threatened  for  attacking  sin  in  this  way,  but  these 
threats  have  never  amounted  to  anything. 

During  my  fourth  year  on  the  Leasburg  Circuit,  I  had  an 
assistant.  He  was  in  his  first  year  in  the  ministry.  He  was 
somewhat  timid,  and  inclined  to  seasons  of  doubt,  when  he 
would  say  he  did  not  have  religion,  and  it  was  all  I  could 
do  to  keep  him  from  giving  up  his  work  and  going  home. 
During  a  revival  he  came  to  me  and  said:  "I  haven't  got 
any  religion,  and  I  want  to  go  to  the  altar,  and  seek  re- 
ligion." I  told  him  I  did  not  think  that  Avas  the  thing  for 
him  to  do,  that  I  had  no  doubt  that  he  already  had  religion, 
and  if  he  had  any  doubt  about  it,  to  take  his  doubts  to  the 
Lord.  He  said  he  laiew  better  than  I  did  how  he  felt.  I 
told  him  that  might  be  so.  But  I  knew  it  was  unnecessary 
for  him  to  go  to  the  mourners'  bench  at  the  church  to  get  a 
blessing:  that  he  was  my  assistant,  and  while  he  could  tell 
me  anything,  I  did  not  want  him  to  be  telling  the  people  he 
had  no  religion. 

That  night  we  went  home  to  Leasburg,  (he  boarded  with 
me),  and  I  insisted  on  his  holding  prayer  meeting,  which 
he  did.  After  the  prayer  meeting,  Rev.  Solomon  Lea  and 
his  daughter.  Miss  Willie,  went  with  us  to  the  parsonage, 
and  in  course  of  conversation,  my  young  jDreacher  said :  "I 
don't  know  anything  about  regeneration,  or  sanctification 
either."  I  said  to  him,  "You  had  better  go  to  the  Lord, 
and  find  out  something  on  these  subjects."  He  left  us 
rather  abruptly,  and  went  to  his  room.     Brother  Lea  said, 


48  Recollectioxs 

^'What  is  the  matter  with  the  young  man:  I  thought  him 
one  of  the  best  young  men  I  ever  saw."  I  replied:  "You 
are  right.  He  is  an  excellent  young  man,  but  he  gets  mel- 
ancholy sometimes ;  and  he  is  in  one  of  his  melancholy  moods 
tonight.''  Brother  Lea  and  his  daughter  left  pretty  soon, 
and  I  went  to  bed  and  soon  fell  asleep.  Soon  after  retiring, 
my  wife  waked  me,  saying  there  is  something  the  matter 
up  stairs.  I  went  up  and  found  the  young  preacher  rolling 
on  the  floor  in  an  agony  of  prayer.  I  said  to  him:  "What 
is  the  matter  ^''  He  answered :  '"I  don't  know."  He  contin- 
ued to  cry,  "O,  Lord  have  mercy  on  me."  I  said  to  him: 
"Well,  you  have  gone  to  the  right  one  for  help;  if  I  had 
known  what  the  trouble  was,  I  would  not  have  disturbed 
you."  I  went  back  to  bed.  In  a  few  moments,  I  heard  him 
come  down  and  leave  the  house.  He  went  out  in  the  church 
lot  that  joined  the  parsonage  lot.  I  do  not  know  how  long 
he  remained  out  there;  but  I  learned  from  him  next  morn- 
ing that  he  got  a  great  blessing.  I  never  heard  him  com- 
plain afterwards  that  he  did  not  have  religion.  He  was  a 
new  man  from  that  night. 

My  experience  and  obser^^ation  teach  me  that  there  is 
nothing  that  will  give  satisfaction  in  all  conditions  of  life, 
but  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Without  a  divine  as- 
surance of  personal  salvation,  there  will  come  times  of  doubt, 
when  life  will  be  a  burden,  and  the  satisfactory  performance 
of  religious  duties  will  be  impossible.  But  the  clearest 
evidence  of  salvation  will  not  abide  with  us,  unless  we  are 
careful  to  abstain  from  -uTong  doing,  and  are  earnest  in  our 
efforts  to  serve  and  please  God. 

At  the  time  I  was  on  the  Leasburg  Circuit,  from  1884  to 
1887,  inclusive,  that  section  was  in  a  very  prosperous  con- 
dition. The  principal  market  crop  was  tobacco:  and  the 
farmers  were  receiving  fine  prices.  The  organization  of  the 
American  Tobacco  Company  brought  the  price  to  the  far- 


A^^D  Obseevatioxs  49 

mer  down,  and  ran  the  small  manufacturers  out  of  business. 
I  am  not  stating  these  facts  with  a  view  of  condemning  those 
who  compose  the  tobac<30  trust;  for  after  all,  it  may  be  in 
the  end  good  for  the  farmer,  that  his  attention  was  turned 
to  something  else.  It  is  my  opinion,  and  I  was  reared  on  a 
tobacco  farm,  that  tobacco  culture  will  ultimately  impover- 
ish a  country;  and  I  do  not  say  this  from  any  fanatical  ob- 
jection to  the  tobacco  habit;  while  I  admit  it  is  a  bad  habit; 
yet  the  best  men  I  ever  knew  were  tobacco  users.  But  tobacco 
culture  continued  for  a  series  of  years,  impoverishes  the 
soil  and  burns  up  the  wood,  for  it  takes  a  large  quantity 
of  wood  to  cure  the  weed,  and  leaves  the  f  ann  in  a  poor  con- 
dition. 

I  knew  one  farmer,  and  he  was  one  of  my  stewards,  who 
sold  one  thousand  dollars  worth  of  tobacco  off  of  one  acra 
With  such  fine  prices  for  the  weed,  Caswell  and  Person 
counties,  at  that  time  were  getting  rich;  and  the  church 
was  increasing  in  liberality  and  spiritual  life.  That  was 
the  last  circuit  I  ever  traveled,  and  I  left  it  in  better  finan- 
cial condition  than  I  have  ever  been  since.  AYhile  I  was 
on  that  circuit,  I  kept  a  good  pair  of  horses,  and  had  a  man 
servant  who  made  a  crop  and  raised  feed  for  my  stock,  and 
made  more  than  enough  from  a  tobacco  crop  to  pay  his 
hire  and  board. 

I  lived  largely  off  of  my  farm,  and  could  keep  the  most 
of  my  salary.  But  I  never  lost  an  hour  from  my  minister- 
ial duties  by  having  a  little  farming  interest.  I  did  this 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  did  not  find  that  it  detracted 
from  my  usefulness  as  a  preacher,  or  gave  the  people  any 
excuse  for  not  paying  for  my  support. 

My  experience  is  that  the  man  who  serves  the  people  wise- 
ly and  well,  will  always  receive  support  from  them.  We 
sometimes  hear  it  said :  ''Brother  A.  is  a  good  preacher  but  a 

4 


50  IlECOLLECTIOiN"S 

poor  pastor,"  or  ''Brother  B.  is  a  good  pastor,  but  a  poor 
preacher."  The  idea  is  getting  into  the  minds  of  many 
that  you  cannot  in  the  same  preacher  find  both  preacher  and 
pastor.  I  think  that  the  idea  is  an  erroneous  one.  Visiting 
■in  the  proper  way  and  spirit  from  house  to  house  is  the  best 
preparation  for  preaching  outside  of  a  prayerful  study  of 
the  word  of  God.  Pastoral  visiting  is  not  simply  social 
visiting,  making  a  great  many  calls  and  talking  about  com- 
mon place  things.  To  be  able  to  do  pastoral  visiting  as  it 
should  be  done  is  one  of  the  finest  of  fine  arts.  I  do  not 
claim  that  I  was  ever  perfect  in  this  very  important  work; 
but  will  give  some  idea  of  the  plan  I  followed. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  helpful  to  some  young  preacher  who 
may  be  earnestly  trying  to  do  this  important  and  difficult 
work  well.  I  made  it  a  rule  when  I  went  to  a  new  charge, 
to  visit  every  family  as  soon  as  I  could.  I  kept  a  little 
l)Ook,  and  when  I  went  to  a  home  I  would  inquire  the  name 
of  every  member  of  the  family  and  write  them  down.  I 
would  write  the  names  of  all  the  children  in  my  little  visit- 
ing book;  and  when  I  went  again,  I  would  familiarize  my- 
self with  all  the  names,  so  I  could  call  all  the  children  by 
name*  I  soon  found  that  children  liked  that.  They  do  not 
like  to  be  called  ''bud"  and  "sissy" ;  and  in  this  way  I  could 
get  hold  of  the  children,  and  get  them  to  like  me ;  and  when 
I  had  got  hold  of  the  children,  I  always  found  that  I  had 
the  parents  too.  It  took  me  sometime  to  learn  this  simple 
lesson;  and  if  some  one  had  suggested  it  to  me,  it  would 
have  been  very  helpful  at  the  beginning  of  my  ministry.  I 
made  it  a  rule,  whenever  convenient  to  have  family  prayer; 
but  I  always  had  an  eye  to  the  fitness  of  things.  I  made  it 
a  rule  not  to  stay  too  long  at  any  place;  and  to  be  careful 
not  to  show  partiality  to  any  particular  family.  I  gave  more 
attention  to  the  poor  members  of  my  charge,  for  the  poor, 


AND  Observations  51 

as  a  rule,  are  more  sensitive,  and  need  more  careful  hand- 
ling than  those  who  are  well  to  do. 

There  is  one  mistake  I  made  that  I  would  warn  young 
preachers  against.  I  too  frequently  took  young  lady  mem- 
bers of  my  charge  out  visiting  with  me.  I  did  this  innocent- 
ly, and  no  harm  ever  came  of  it ;  but  there  are  those  who  are 
ready  to  think  evil;  and  I  found  after  awhile,  that  it  mat- 
tered not  how  pure  my  intentions,  it  would  be  better  to 
avoid  much  association  with  the  women  of  my  flock.  This 
is  a  very  delicate  subject;  but  one  to  which  attention  should 
be  called.  I  think  I  eventually  swung  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme, and  for  several  years  I  have  had  very  few  lady  asso- 
ciates, in  so  much  that  a  friend  of  mine  told  me  that  a  lady 
told  him,  she  thought  I  was  a  proud  man,  and  not  very  so- 
cial. I  know  her  estimate  is  wrong,  for  I  am  not  conscious 
of  pride;  and  I  know  I  am  of  a  social  disposition. 

My  object  in  writing  these  recollections  is  to  do  good ; 
and  I  hope  the  kind  reader  will  pardon  these  personal  al- 
lusions. 

On  the  31st  day  of  August,  1886,  there  was  an  earthquake 
that  damaged  the  city  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  greatly 
and  shook  the  Atlantic  Seaboard  for  many  miles.  I  was 
holding  a  revival  meeting  at  a  church  on  my  charge,  called 
Prospect.  It  was  about  sixteen  miles  from  Leasburg,  but 
I  happened  to  come  home  that  night.  The  shock  was  severe 
enough  to  shake  Bricks  off  of  some  of -the  chimneys  in  Leas- 
burg. The  community  was  very  much  frightened,  and  some 
ridiculous  things  were  done.  We  were  living  in  a  new  par- 
sonage that  was  covered  with  tin ;  and  when  the  quake  struck 
us,  that  tin  roof  produced  such  a  cracking  noise  that  I 
thought  the  house  was  on  fire ;  and  I  suppose  I  was  the  only 
person  in  the  village  who  was  relieved  to  find  it  was  an 
earthquake. 


52  Recollections 

The  next  day  I  went  back  to  the  meeting,  and  found  a 
much  larger  congregation  than  had  been  in  attendance. 
There  were  some  members  of  the  church  that  would  not 
attend  the  meeting  because  they  wanted  it  held  at  another 
time.  These  were  all  there,  and  ready  to  do  anything  to 
help  the  revival  on.  The  revival  received  a  great  impetus 
from  the  earthquake.  In  an  experience  meeting  a  day  or 
two  after,  one  brother  arose  and  said  with  a  solemn  em- 
phasis :  ''Brethren,  I  am  convinced  that  there  is  power  some- 
where ;  for  it  takes  power  to  shake  this  earth,  and  we  all  felt 
it  this  week."  I  could  not  help  being  amused  at  the  thought 
that  the  brother  had  just  become  satisfied  that  there  was 
"power  somewhere."  From  the  effect  of  that  earthquake  on 
my  congregation  at  Prospect,  and  the  great  help  it  gave  me 
in  my  revival  work,  I  could  enter  into  a  better  conception 
of  the  effect  the  earthquake  at  Phillippi  had  when  Paul  and 
Silas  were  imprisoned  there,  and  when  the  jailor  was  con- 
verted. 

The  last  year  1  was  on  the  Leasburg  Circuit,  1887,  was  a 
year  of  general  revivals.  The  church,  all  over  the  circuit 
was  in  a  blaze  of  revival  fire.  While  on  this  charge  I  had 
two  Presiding  Elders.  When  I  first  went  there.  Dr.  I^.  H. 
D.  Wilson  was  Presiding  Elder.  When  his  time  was  out 
Rev.  W.  S.  Black,  D.  D.,  came.  Both  of  these  brethren 
wxre  very  helpful  to  me,  and  between  them  and  me,  there 
existed  the  warmest  affection.  It  was  always  a  pleasure  to 
meet  them  at  Hillsboro,  twenty-six  miles  away  from  Leas- 
burg, and  take  them  to  my  work.  When  there  exists  bro- 
therly love  between  the  preacher  and  the  Presiding  Elder 
the  association  is  always  pleasant  and  helpful  to  both ;  and 
when  there  is  mutual  confidence  everything  works  well.  The 
office  of  Presiding  Elder,  in  the  economy  of  Episcopal 
Methodism,  is  a  necessary  office ;  but  when  men  get  into  this 
office  v/ho  are  misfits,  great  harm  comes  to  the  church  and 


AND  Observations  53 

to  the  ministry.  1  state  a  fact  without  reference  to  any  par- 
ticular case.  It  is  my  purpose  to  put  down  such  facts  as 
will  be  helpful  to  those  who  consider  them,  and  with  no  un- 
pleasant memories. 

When  I  left  the  Leasburg  Circuit  there  were  seven  hun- 
dred and  forty  members  on  the  register  of  the  circuit,  and  I 
knew  every  one  by  sight  and  name;  and  I  knew  all  the  chil- 
dren on  my  charge.  The  pastoral  instruction  of  the  chil- 
dren is  a  very  necessary  and  a  very  difScult  work. 

Many  of  the  good  people  who  were  members  of  the  church 
on  dear  old  Leasburg  Circuit  when  I  left  it,  have  gone  to 
their  eternal  home.  I  hope  to  meet  those  dear  friends  in 
heaven.  That  country  has  changed  very  much  since  I  was 
there.  A  great  many  of  the  people  have  moved  to  the  towns 
and  the  farming  interest  has  gone  backward.  Much  of  the 
colored  labor  has  left  the  country  for  the  towns,  as  the  to^vns 
have  prospered  at  the  expense  of  the  country.  Danville, 
Virginia,  and  Durham,  !North  Carolina,  have  profited  great- 
ly by  the  migration  from  this  section;  and  Roxboro,  on  the 
line  of  the  railroad  from  Durham  to  Lynchburg,  has  shared 
in  the  migration  from  the  country. 

The  ISTorth  Carolina  Conference  met  in  Reidsville,  II.  C, 
1886.  Bishop  John  C.  Granbery  presided.  This  confer- 
ence was  made  memorable  by  the  biggest  snow  that  ever  fell 
during  a  session  of  Conference.  The  snow  in  Reidsville 
was  about  sixteen  inches  deep,  and  the  weather  was  extreme- 
ly cold.  To  get  from  Reidsville  to  Leasburg  we  had  to  go 
by  Danville,  and  a  little  station  called  Southerlands,  and 
then  over  a  narrow  gauge  railroad  to  Milton.  When  I  got 
to  Milton  I  hired  a  conveyance  to  take  Miss  Cattie  ]^e^vman 
and  myself  to  Leasburg,  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles.  There 
was  a  thick  crust  on  the  snow,  and  our  team  soon  began  to 
balk,  and  after  a  great  effort  of  some  hours,  we  reached  the 


54  Eecoi  lectioxs 

home  of  a  brother  Jones,  who  was  a  member  of  my  charge. 
He  hitched  a  pair  of  mules  to  the  carriage  we  had  hired 
from  the  livery  stables  and  took  us  to  Leasburg.  When  I 
got  home  I  found  all  my  family  sick  with  colds.  The  snow 
lasted  for  sometime,  and  we  had  a  very  hard  winter.  While 
at  Leasburg  we  put  up  ice  every  winter  for  summer  use,  and 
there  was  no  winter  while  I  was  stationed  there  that  we 
could  not  get  thick  ice  with  which  to  fill  our  ice  houses. 
This  was  a  great  blessing  to  us,  as  we  were  thirteen  miles 
from  the  railroad  and  could  not  get  manufactured  ice. 


AND  Observations  55 

CHAPTER  V. 

Stationed  at  Raleigh. 

The  ISTorth  Carolina  Conference  met  in  Fayetteville,  'N. 
C,  in  December,  1887.  Bishop  Joseph  S.  Key  presided. 
From  this  Conference  I  was  sent  to  what  was  Person  Street 
Church,  Raleigh.  This  was  my  first  station.  When  I  got 
there,  I  had  neither  church  nor  parsonage.  The  Rev.  R.  B. 
John  was  stationed  there  the  year  before,  and  under  his 
ministry  the  old  Person  Street  Church  and  parsonage  were 
sold,  and  a  far  more  suitable  lot  was  purchased  for  a  new 
church  on  the  corner  of  Morgan  and  Person  Streets,  two 
squares  east  of  the  Capitol.  The  congregation  was  worship- 
ping in  Briggs'  Hall  on  Fayetteville  Street.  Brother  John 
had  secured  the  plan  for  a  new  church,  and  had  appointed 
a  building  committee.  We  had  the  lot,  and  about  three  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  a  plan  for  a  twenty  thousand  dollar  church, 
and  a  poor  congregation.  Such  was  the  outlook  when  I  went 
to  my  first  station  in  our  capital  city. 

For  fifteen  years  consecutively  I  had  traveled  circuits-, 
and  now  I  had  become  a  city  pastor ;  but  I  had  none  of  the 
ease  and  luxury  the  circuit  preacher  so  often  imagines  his 
brother  in  the  city  station  enjoys.  If  I  had  been  blessed 
with  a  church  and  parsonage,  things  would  have  been  differ- 
ent; but  it  was  my  duty  to  build  a  church,  and  take  care  of 
the  little  flock  committed  to  my  care ;  and  I  went  about  the 
work  with  a  will.  I  rented  a  house,  and  moved  in.  We 
had  very  little  furniture,  and  while  my  congregation  was 
willing,  they  had  very  little  means  with  which  to  help;  but 
I  never  found  truer  helpers  than  some  of  these  members 
proved  to  be. 

The  building  committee  was  composed  of  the  following 
faithful  men:  John  W.  Evans,  William  N.  Snelling,  and 
Samuel  Parrish.     We  commenced  work  on  the  church  as 


56  Recollections 

soon  as  we  could.  We  decided  to  buy  our  material  and  hire 
our  workmen,  and  build  ourselves.  Looking  after  the  work 
devolved  on  me,  as  each  of  the  committee  was  confined  to 
his  respective  business.  We  arranged  to  have  an  auditing 
committee,  which  should  approve  all  bills,  and  the  auditor 
should  issue  his  order  on  the  treasurer  for  all  moneys  to  be 
paid  out.  I  had  some  little  books  printed,  with  stubs  at- 
tached for  the  auditor  to  issue  his  orders  on,  and  keep  a 
stub  of  the  order,  so  we  could  show  what  every  cent  went 
for.  William  iST  .  Snelling  was  auditor,  and  John  W.  Evans 
was  treasurer.  Two  better  men  never  lived  than  they  were. 
It  took  nearly  Jour  years  to  raise  money  enough,  and  com- 
plete the  building.  We  commenced  work  on  the  church  the 
first  of  April,  and  got  into  the  lecture  room  first  Sunday 
in  August;  but  we  were  obliged  to  discontinue  work  on  the 
auditorium  for  some  time  from  lack  of  funds. 

I  held  many  meetings  and  collected  money  in  many  places 
to  complete  the  church.  Among  the  churches  in  which  I 
held  meetings  was  Broad  Street  Church,  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia. We  had  a  good  revival  there,  and  the  congregation 
gave  me  five  hundred  dollars.  One  good  man  there,  Brother 
I.  l«r.  Vaughan,  gave  me  one  hundred  dollars.  From  Rich- 
mond I  went  to  Philadelphia,  and  stopped  with  an  old  friend, 
Mr.  Van  Gunden,  who  introduced  me  to  a  number  of  wealthy 
Methodists  in  Philadelphia,  who  gave  me  quite  a  nice 
little  sum  to  aid  me  in  the  completion  of  the  church.  Mr. 
Van  Gunden  had  a  marble  business  in  Philadelphia,  and  a 
branch,  business  in  Raleigh.  He  was  an  excellent  gentleman, 
and  a  very  devoted  Methodist.  He  introduced  me  to  his  pas- 
tor, who  invited  me  to  preach  in  his  church,  the  Tabernacle 
Methodist  in  that  city.  I  preached  there  on  Wednesday 
night,  and  did  not  expect  anything  more  than  a  prayer  meet- 
ing congregation ;  but  to  laj  surprise  the  auditorium  was 


AND  Observations  57 

packed  and  I  never  preached  to  a  more  appreciative  con- 
gregation. 

While  in  Philadelphia  I  called  on  Mr.  John  Maris,  who 
was  a  retired  manufacturing  chemist.  He  was  called  the 
patriarch  of  Philadelphia  Methodism,  and  he  told  me  a  very 
interesting  story.  He  said,  "When  I  was  a  young  man, 
something  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  I  took  a  trip  to  New 
Orleans  in  an  old  fashioned  sulky.  There  were  no  railroads 
then.  On  my  return  from  New  Orleans,  I  passed  through 
western  North  Carolina.  One  evening  just  before  night,  I 
drove  up  to  a  little  village  called  Wilkesboro,  where  there 
was  a  little  inn.  It  was  raining  when  I  drove  up,  and  when 
I  went  in  I  called  for  a  drink.  The  proprietor  told  me  that 
he  did  not  keep  any  ardent  spirits.  He  said  he  would  try 
to  make  me  comfortable,  but  that  he  was  a  Christian  man, 
and  did  not  believe  in  selling  or  drinking  liquor."  Mr.  Maris 
said :  "I  was  provoked  to  think  that  any  man  would  keep  a 
hotel  and  not  keep  a  dram  for  a  guest.  Bvit  he  made  me 
comfortable  as  I  sat  by  a  broad  fireplace  and  got  warm  and 
dry.  He  gave  me  a  good  supper,  served  in  family  fashion, 
that  I  enjoyed  very  much.  After  supper  he  said  to  me, 
'We  have  family  prayers,  and  if  you  do  not  object,  we  will 
be  glad  to  have  you  remain  v^dth  us.  If  you  prefer  we  will 
show  you  to  your  room.'  I  decided  to  stay  and  see  what  they 
did  at  family  prayers,  as  I  had  never  been  at  family  prayers 
in  my  life.  The  old  gentleman  took  down  his' family  Bible, 
and  read  a  chapter ;  then  he  gave  out  a  hymn,  and  the  family 
stood  up  and  sang  it.  Afterward  he  knelt  down,  as  all  the 
family  did,  and  I  thought  as  it  would  be  impolite  not  to,  I 
knelt  dovvTL  too.  I  never  heard  any  man  talk  to  God  like 
that  man  did.  He  seemed  to  be  talking  to  Him  face  to  face. 
He  prayed  for  the  stranger  that  was  within  his  gates,  that 
God  would  give  him  journeying  mercies ;  that  he  might  reach 
the  end  of  his  journey  safely,   and  that  the   Lord  would 


58  Recollections 

awaken  and  convert  him  and  adopt  him  into  his  family. 
That  prayer  made  an  abiding  impression  on  me,  and  I  for- 
got almost  everything  that  I  had  seen  on  my  way  to  and 
from  ]S[ew  Orleans.  When  I  got  home,  I  began  to  read  the 
Bible,  and  to  pray  for  myself.  One  day  while  praying  alone 
in  my  office,  I  experienced  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  was 
consciously  born  of  the  Spirit.  I  wrote  to  my  host — ^his 
name  was  Wilkins — and  told  him  that  through  his  prayer 
for  me,  I  had  been  converted  and  I  wished  to  know  to  what 
church  he  belonged.  He  wrote  me  that  he  was  a  Methodist. 
I  told  my  wife  that  I  was  going  to  join  the  Methodist 
Church.  She  cried,  and  said  she  would  not  object  to  my 
joining  the  church,  if  I  would  join  a  respectable  one.  I 
joined  the  Methodist  Church,  and  determined  to  do  all  I 
could  to  make  it  respectable ;  so  I  enterprised  the  building 
of  our  present  Arch  Street  Church.  My  wife  was  converted, 
and  went  with  me,  and  for  sixty  years  we  have  been  humble 
Methodists." 

Mr.  Maris  was  a  millionaire  retired  from  business,  and 
quietly  waiting  to  go  to  his  heavenly  home,  to  which  he  went 
a  number  of  years  ago.  When  he  was  telling  me  his  story, 
I  took  out  a  note  book  to  take  it  down,  and  he  said:  "Stop, 
if  you  are  going  to  publish  what  I  am  telling  you,  I  will  tell 
you  nothing."  I  said  to  him  that  I  would  never  publish 
what  he  had  told  me  so  as  to  annoy  him.  Since  he  has  gone 
"where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are 
at  rest,"  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  write  the  story,  because 
I  think  it  is  calculated  to  do  good. 

Mr.  Maris  was  the  moving  spirit  in  building  Arch  Street 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Philadelphia,  which  stands 
today  a  monument  to  a  family  prayer  offered  in  a  little  hotel 
in  North  Carolina.  I  state  the  simple  fact ;  and  while  there 
is  quite  a  temptation  to  preach  a  little  just  here,  will  not  do 


AND  Observations  59 

so,  for  as  one  has  said:  ''I  am  not  preaching,  but  telling 
facts." 

Mr.  Maris  was  a  large,  patriarchal  looking  man,  with  a 
long  beard,  and  a  benevolent  face.  When  through  with  his 
narrative  he  said:  "I  don't  think  preachers  ought  to  have  to 
raise  money:  the  laymen  ought  to  do  that;  but  I  will  make 
you  a  small  donation,  for  doing  me  the  honor  of  calling  on 
me,"  and  he  gave  me  a  donation  in  gold.  The  good  old  gen- 
tleman and  his  wife  have  both  gone  to  that  city  where  the 
streets  are  paved  with  gold;  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  had 
much  treasure  laid  up  there. 

Soon  after  I  was  sent  to  Raleigh,  I  was  elected  chaplain 
of  the  military  company,  known  as  the  Governor's  Guard. 
Soon  after  my  election  as  chaplain,  the  company  asked  me 
if  I  would  not  preach  them  a  sermon  one  Sunday  afternoon 
each  month.  I  agreed  to  do  it :  and  we  had  a  sermon  in  one 
of  the  large  churches  every  month  for  three  years.  Some- 
times we  would  hold  these  services  in  one  of  the  Bap- 
tist Churches ;  sometimes  in  the  Presbyterian ;  then  at 
Edenton  Street  Methodist  Church  and  after  we  com- 
pleted Central  Methodist  Church,  sometimes  we  would 
hold  the  service  there.  These  services  were  always  largely 
attended,  and  we  generally  had  excellent  music.  During 
a  session  of  the  legislature.  Col.  F.  A.  Olds,  who  was  Quarter 
Master  General,  came  to  me  and  asked  if  I  could  not  preach 
a  sermon  showing  the  necessity  of  having  a  military  com- 
pany. I  told  him  I  thought  I  could.  He  said,  "Prepare 
your  sermon,  and  I  will  put  a  notice  on  the  desk  of  every 
member  of  the  General  Assembly,  inviting  them  to  come. 
The  service  will  be  held  in  the  First  Baptist  Church ;  and  I 
will  do  all  I  can  to  get  them  out,  for  there  is  a  move  to  do 
away  with  the  State  Guard."  On  Sunday  afternoon,  the 
Company  turned  out  as  usual,  and  I  suppose  the  whole 
General  Assembly  was  at  the  church.     I  preached  on  the 


60  EECOI.LECTIONS 

necessity  of  maintaing  civil  government,  as  a  divine  insti- 
tution. I  took  as  my  text  the  following  passage :  ''Let  every 
soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers.  For  there  is  no 
power  but  of  God:  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God. 
Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordi- 
nance of  God:  and  they  that  resist  shall  receive  to  them- 
selves damnation.  For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works, 
but  to  the  evil.  Wilt  thou  then  not  be  afraid  of  the  power  ? 
Do  that  which  is  good  and  thou  shalt  have  praise  of  the 
same:  For  he  is  the  minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good.  But 
if  thou  do  that  which  is  evil  be  afraid ;  for  he  beareth  not  the 
stvord  in  vain;  for  he  is  the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to 
execute  wrath  upon  him  that  doeth  evil."  Romans  13  :l-4. 

I  endeavored  to  show  that  there  could  be  no  civilized 
society  without  civil  law;  and  that  the  government  must  be 
a  power,  able  to  enforce  its  laws.  That  to  meet  this  neces- 
sity of  government,  there  must  be  a  military  force  at  the 
command  of  the  executive.  That  the  only  power  at  the 
command  of  the  Governor  was  the  State  Guard.  (At  that 
time  the  militia  was  a  State  and  not  a  IsTational  organiza- 
tion.) I  endeavored  to  show  that  the  guard  would  become 
a  necessity  to  suppress  riots,  lynchings  and  general  lawless- 
ness, should  they  ever  assume  proportions  too  large  to  be 
controlled  by  the  ordinary  police ;  and  while  it  is  rarely  nec- 
essary to  use  the  military  force  to  keep  order,  the  fact  that 
there  is  such  a  force  has  much  to  do  with  preventing  lawless- 
ness. 

I  emphasized  the  fact  that  the  government  must  be  a  po- 
wer, and  stand  for  righteousness,  to  meet  the  ordinance  of 
God;  and  that  no  good  citizen  had  anything  to  fear  from 
such  a  power ;  for  it  was  for  his  protection. 

I  cannot  say  what  effect  the  sermon  had  on  the  General 
Assembly,  but  several  bills  were  introduced  the  next  day  for 


AND  Observations  61 

the  maintenance  of  the  Guard.  Col.  Olds  was  delighted,  and 
told  me  that  his  plan  had  succeeded  admirably. 

I  have  given  this  little  account,  to  tell  of  another  incident 
that  followed  it.  Two  years  afterwards,  a  member  of  that 
General  Assembly  was  in  a  campaign  for  re-election,  and 
his  county  paper  reported  him  as  saying,  the  legislature 
would  have  abolished  the  State  Guard,  and  relieved  the  State 
of  that  useless  expense,  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  political  har- 
angue delivered  by  a  Methodist  preacher  in  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church  during  the  session.  The  statement  was  copied 
in  the  ISTews  and  Observer,  a  daily  paper  published  in  Ra- 
leigh. I  saw  the  statement,  and  replied  to  it ;  giving  the  text, 
and  outline  of  the  sermon,  and  said:  "The  people  of  that 
county  have  my  sympathies,  in  that  they  are  represented  by 
a  man  who  can  not  tell  a  gospel  sermon  from  a  political 
harangue." 

When  that  gentleman  came  back  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, for  he  was  re-elected,  I  met  him  in  the  Capitol  Square, 
and  he  said  to  me:  "The  papers  misrepresented  me.  I 
never  called  your  sermon  a  political  harangue."  I  said  to 
him:  "If  you  will  explain  one  thing  to  me,  I  shall  be  satis- 
fied, and  retract  my  expression  of  sympathy  for  your  con- 
stituents." He  said :  "AVhat  is  that  ?"  I  said  to  him,  "Tel) 
me  how  the  people  of  youi  county  knew  anything  about  m;y 
preaching  any  sermon  in  Raleigh  two  years  ago."  He  could 
not  explain;  and  I  said  to  him:  "Your  constituents  stilll 
have  my  sympathy,"  and  bid  him  good  morning.  I  heard 
that  he  said  that  it  was  the  most  severe  rebuke  he  ever  had. 


62  Recollections 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Raleigh  Pastokate  Continued. 

While  I  was  stationed  in  Raleigh  we  had  a  prohibition 
election  for  Raleigh  township.  They  made  me  chairman  of 
the  committee  to  conduct  the  campaign.  I  canvassed  the 
city  and  suburbs,  and  we  had  an  exceedingly  warm  cam- 
paign. The  Hon.  N.  B.  Broughton  was  in  the  fight,  and 
along  with  the  other  friends  of  prohibition  and  temperance 
was  very  active.  We  came  near  carrying  the  township  for 
prohibition,  and  had  the  whiskeyites  fairly  beaten  up  to 
two  o'clock;  when  one  of  our  friends,  who  was  one  of  the 
poll-holders  in  the  outside  east  precinct,  with  more  zeal  than 
judgment,  began  to  rejoice  because  he  had  found  out  we  were 
about  to  carry  that  stronghold  of  the  anti-prohibitionists. 
There  was  a  bar  keeper  also  of  the  number  of  poll  holders, 
and  he  sent  up  into  the  city,  to  a  firm  that  sold  whiskey,  and 
informed  them  that  if  they  did  not  do  something  at  once 
they  were  beaten.  They  came  down,  with  whiskey  and 
money,  and  bought  about  three  hundred  negro  votes,  and 
defeated  us  by  a  small  majority.  It  was  a  costly  victory  to 
them,  as  several  of  the  whiskey  sellers  made  assignments 
soon  after  the  election. 

Shortly  after  the  election,  I  was  told  that  one  of  the  men 
who  was  instrumental  in  buying  the  negro  votes  told  one  of 
my  stewards  that  if  they  would  get  rid  of  me  he  would  pay 
fifty  dollars  to  the  support  of  my  successor.  My  steward 
told  me  about  it.  I  met  the  man  soon  after,  and  told  him, 
pleasantly,  that  I  was  glad  to  hear  of  his  interest  in  Cen- 
tral Church.  He  said,  ''How  do  you  know  I  am  interested 
in  that  church."  I  told  him  what  I  had  heard ;  and  I  told 
him  that  I  told  the  steward  to  whom  he  made  the  offer  not 
to  take  it,  for  I  would  make  him  raise  tlie  bid  to  one 
hundred  dollars  before  I  was  through  v/ith  him.     He  tried 


AND  Observations  63 

to  deny  making  the  offer,  and  said,  "I  like  you,  and  I  don't 
care  how  long  you  stay,"  and  I  told  him  I  was  glad  he  liked 
me,  and  I  intended  to  make  him  love  me  before  I  was  done 
with  him. 

Not  long  after  this  one  bar  keeper  died  suddenly  and  an- 
other was  stricken  with  paralysis ;  and  that  gentleman  quit 
the  whiskey  business,  and  joined  the  church ;  and  I  am  in- 
formed he  became  a  good  church  member. 

The  fight  against  the  saloons  at  that  time  was  a  hard 
one,  and  with  the  negro  vote  generally  against  prohibition, 
it  was  hard  to  carry  any  community.  We  were  able,  how- 
ever, to  carry  the  State  by  about  fifty  thousand  majority 
for  prohibition  in  1908,  having  been  relieved  of  the  negro 
vote ;  and  the  sentiment  has  become  so  strong  for  prohibition 
that  no  one  will  attempt  now  to  revive  the  issue  and  go  back 
to  the  old  license  system.  But  it  took  a  long,  hard  fight  to 
bring  the  present  state  of  things  to  pass.  Whiskey  had  such 
a  hold  on  politics  that  the  politicians  spoke  of  it  as  "a  very 
ticklish  subject,"  and  were  generally  afraid  to  take  a  stand 
against  the  saloon  power. 

Soon  after  going  to  Raleigh  death  visited  my  home,  and 
took  away  a  precious  child.  Little  Ruth  was  nearly  two 
years  old,  and  an  unusually  lovely  little  one.  I  felt  the  be- 
reavement very  sorely;  and  I  remember  what  a  touching- 
effect  the  presentation  of  a  beautiful  wreath  of  flowers  sent 
me  by  the  niilitary  company,  had  on  me.  The  wreath  was 
a  work  of  art,  and  had  the  name  "Ruth"  woven  into  it.  I 
never  so  fully  understood  the  meaning  of  flowers  before. 
It  was  presented  by  a  detail  from  the  company  who  quietly 
brought  it  to  me  without  a  word,  but  each  member  of  the  de- 
tail showed  the  deepest  sympathy.  This  little  incident  en- 
deared the  company  to  me,  with  affection  for  every  member 
of  it,  that  will  abide  as  lonK  as  I  live. 


64  Recollections 

I  never  got  Central  Church  finished  completely  until  just 
before  I  left  Raleigh.  It  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Galloway 
the  Sunday  before  the  Conference  met  in  Greenville,  iT.  C. 
At  the  dedication  of  the  church,  we  had  one  of  the  finest 
congregations  I  ever  saw  in  Raleigh ;  not  the  largest,  but  the 
most  select.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  the  Governor 
and  all  State  officials  were  present,  and  a  large  number  of 
the  leading  business  men  of  the  city.  The  whole  city  had 
lent  a  helping  hand  by  contributing  to  the  building,  and  na- 
turally shared  in  the  pleasure  at  its  completion.  We  owed  thir- 
ty-tv/o  hundred  dollars.  Seventeen  hundred  had  to  be  raised 
before  we  could  dedicate  the  house.  We  owed  the  Board  of 
Church  Extension  fifteen  hundred  that  we  had  borrowed  to 
be  paid  in  annual  installments.  We  borrowed  two  thousand 
from  the  Board,  and  had  paid  the  first  note  of  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  Bishop  said  if  we  could  raise  all  but  that, 
he  would  dedicate  the  church.  We  raised  the  seventeen  hun- 
dred dollars  in  less  than  half  an  hour.  The  people  regard- 
less of  denomination  contributed  willingly,  and  the  amount 
was  raised  without  effort. 

I  recall  one  contribution,  made  by  Judge  E.  G.  Read,  who 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  who  was  a 
Presbyterian.  He  quietly  said :  "Put  down  one  hundred 
dollars  for  Mrs.  Read."  That  contribution  gave  such  an 
impetus  to  the  offerings,  that  the  amount  was  soon  secured. 

Bishop  Galloway  was  at  his  best,  and  he  was  regarded  as 
one  of  the  finest  preachers  of  his  day.  The  large  intelligent 
audience  was  charmed  by  his  eloquence,  and  the  occasion  was 
a  memorable  one  in  the  church  life  of  Raleigh.  The  Pre- 
siding Elder,  Rev.  J.  A.  Cunninggim,  did  not  believe  we 
could  raise  the  money  to  pay  the  debt,  and  was  opposed  to 
the  effort  to  have  the  church  dedicated ;  but  we  succeeded 
to  the  delight  of  all  who  felt  an  interest  in  the  church. 


A2s"D  Observations  65 

The  four  years  spent  in  Raleigh  were  years  of  toil  and 
sacrifice,  but  they  were  joyful  years.  We  had  a  number  of 
revival  meetings,  and  saw  a  great  many  souls  happily  con- 
verted to  God.  We  held  one  meeting  that  went  on  contin- 
uously about  eight  v/eeks.  In  this  meeting  several  of  the 
v/orst  drunkards  in  the  city  v/ere  converted ;  and  as  far  as  I 
know  they  have  all  kept  the  faith.  Several  of  them  have  gone 
to  their  reward.  One  poor  fellow  came  to  the  altar  very 
much  under  the  influence -of  liquor.  I  went  to  him,  and 
smelt  whiskey  very  strongly.  I  said  to  him:  ''My  friend, 
you  are  drunk."  He  said :  ''Yes,  but  I  know  what  I  am  doing. 
You  invited  me  to  come  just  as  I  am,  and  I  have  come,  and 
want  you  to  pray  for  me.  Whiskey  has  got  me  down,  and 
I  cannot  help  myself;  if  Jesus  can  save  me,  I  want  to  be 
saved."  I  called  the  congregation  to  prayer,  and  while  we 
v/ere  praying  for  him  he  v\^as  converted.  Several  of  our 
leading  members  thought  it  was  a  freak  of  a  drunken  man, 
and  were  about  to  eject  him  from  the  house.  I  told  them 
to  let  him  alone ;  wo  had  prayed  for  his  conversion,  and  if  the 
Lord  had  answered  our  prayers,  we  ought  to  rejoice.  He 
went  away,  and  I  did  not  see  him  again  for  a  month.  When 
I  did  see  him,  he  was  a  changed  man,  and  told  me  he  was 
converted,  and  sobered  at  that  meeting,  and  that  "not  one 
drop  of  the  devil's  broth  has  gone  in  my  mouth  since."  I 
never  heard  whiskey  called  by  that  name  before ;  but  I  think 
the  name  appropriate.  I  watched  that  man  for  thirteen 
years ;  for  whenever  I  would  go  to  Raleigh,  I  would  call 
and  inquire  about  him,  and  he  Avas  still  living  a  sober,  Chris- 
tian life.  He  said  to  me  several  times:  "The  cure  is  better 
than  the  Keely  Institute  cure."  He  was  a  fine  boot  and 
sTioe  maker,  and  succeeded  in  busineess,  and  made  money. 
Our  people  showed  a  want  of  confidence  in  the  poor  fellow, 
and  when  I  asked  him  where  he  went  to  church,  he  said : 


66  Recoli^ections 

"I  saw  your  people  did  not  believe  in  me,  and  I  went  and 
joined  John  PuUen's  Church."  John  Pullen  was  one  of  the 
best  men  that  ever  lived  in  Raleigh.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  Church,  but  there  was  no  man  in  my  own  church 
more  helpful  to  me  than  he  was.  He  died  only  a  few  years 
ago,  and  his  name  is  as  precious  ointment  poured  forth  in 
Raleigh. 

While  stationed  in  Raleigh  I  bought  me  a  home.  The 
house  was  situated  at  the  end  of  ISTorth  Blount  Street,  and 
was  just  outside  the  corporation.  I  had  the  benefit  of  the  city 
without  paying  the  tax.  But  I  was  not  permitted  to  live  in 
my  own  house  but  two  years  before  my  term  of  service  in 
Raleigh  expired,  and  I  had  to  go  to  another  field. 

It  is  now  nearly  twenty-five  years  since  I  left  Raleigh  as 
a  pastor  there ;  but  the  dear  old  city  has  a  warm  place  in  my 
heart.  I  have  a  lot  in  the  beautiful  Oakwood  Cemetery, 
where  two  of  my  dear  little  ones  are  buried,  and  there  I  ex- 
pect to  rest  when  my  work  on  earth  is  done. 

My  son-in-law,  Mr.  E.  E^.  Penny,  died,  in  Raleigh  on  the 
14th  or  July,  1915.  He  had  been  a  citizen  of  Raleigh  only 
about  two  years,  but  he  was  so  attached  to  the  people  there, 
that  it  was  his  request  to  be  buried  there,  although  he  owned 
a  lot  in  the  cemetery  in  his  native  city,  Wilmington.  And 
according  to  his  request,  we  bought  him  a  lot  there,  where 
he  sleeps,  near  my  own  lot. 

Raleigh  is  the  most  cosmopolitan  city  in  ISTorth  Carolina ; 
and  as  it  is  the  Capital  of  the  State  it  should  be.  It  has  a 
substantial  business,  and  it  has  fine  schools  and  colleges.  It 
is  a  church  city,  and  has  many  things  to  cormnend  it  as  a 
residence  city.  I  never  left  with  more  regret  any  place  where 
I  had  served  the  Church.  I  have  felt  that  it  is  my  home 
city  ever  since  I  was  stationed  there.     I  had  hopes  of  going 


AND  ObSEEVATIONS  67 

back  there  to  live  for  sometime  after  I  left,  but  eventually 
sold  my  home  there,  and  have  given  up  that  hope. 

Part  of  the  time  I  was  stationed  in  Raleigh,  Rev.  W.  S. 
Black,  D.D.,  was  my  Presiding  Elder,  and  between  him 
and  myself,  and  between  his  good  wife  and  my  wife,  the 
warmest  friendship  existed,  until  they  both  passed  into  their 
eternal  home.  We  hope  to  renew  those  happy  associations 
again  before  many  years ;  as  I  cannot  expect  to  continue 
here  a  great  while  longer.  It  is  a  comfortable  thought  that 
the  friendships  begTin  here  will  be  renewed  in  that  land 
where  parting  will  be  unknown  forever.  While  I  was  sta- 
tioned in  Raleigh,  we  had  three  governors,  Scales,  Fowle  and 
Holt.  They  were  all  warm  personal  friends  of  mine;  and 
they  too  have  passed  away.  Then  I  had  several  dear  friends 
who  filled  other  State  offices,  among  them  Chief  Justice 
Merrimon.  He  attended  my  church  frequently.  He,  for  a 
long  time,  did  not  believe  in  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  but  un- 
der a  sermon  preached  at  Central  Church,  he  became  satis- 
fied that  Christ  was  Divine,  and  that  he  was  the  Judge's 
personal  Saviour.  He  came  to  see  me  the  next  day,  and  took 
me  to  ride,  and  told  me  of  his  experience.  He  joined  the 
church,  took  the  sacrament  on  his  death  bed,  and  died  in  the 
full  assurance  of  eternal  life.  He  was  a  man  of  the  highest 
character  even  before  his  conversion,  and  became  a  witness 
to  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  w^hose  testimony  was 
of  great  value  to  his  friends. 

I  failed  to  mention  that  we  had  a  daughter  born  to  us  in 
1891,  the  year  we  left  Raleigh;  but  after  the  dear  little  one 
was  with  us  about  six  weeks,  God  took  her,  and  hers  is  the 
other  little  grave  beside  that  of  little  Ruth's  in  Oakwood 
Cemetery.  The  ministry  of  little  children  has  a  value  in 
our  lives  that  we  cannot  estimate.  There  is  a  tenderness  in 
this  ministry  that  can  do  more  to  soften  our  natures,  and 
bring  us  in  touch  with  the  spirit  of  him  who  said:  '^Suffer 


68  Recollections 

the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not ;  for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  than  that  of  any  other 
ministry. 

We  rarely  see  the  spot  where  our  little  ones  sleep,  for  as 
itinerant  Methodist  preacher  and  his  wife  we  are  pilgrims 
here;  but  we  know  they  are  safe,  and  our  greatest  desire 
and  fondest  hope  is  that  those  who  still  abide  here  may  be 
good  and  true ;  and  that  the  whole  family  at  last  may  reach 
the  home  of  the  blessed. 

Four  years  of  toil  and  sacrifice  ended  when  I  left  Raleigh, 
but  only  to  begin  in  another  field  where  the  burden  was 
heavier,  and  the  trials  greater  than  any  I  had  encountered. 


AND  Obseevations  .    69 

CHAPTEK  VIL 

Fifth  Street  Chuech^  Wilmington. 

The  JN^orth  Carolina  Conference  met  in  the  town  of  Green- 
ville, IST.  C,  the  latter  part  of  November,  1891.  Bishop 
Charles  B.  Galloway  presided  at  this  conference.  He  went 
down  from  Raleigh  where  he  dedicated  Central  Church,  to 
Greenville.  It  was  my  hope  that  I  might  be  appointed  to 
some  charge  that  would  allow  me  to  continue  to  reside  in 
Raleigh,  as  my  "two  sons  were  attending  that  excellent  school 
there  run  by  Morson  and  Denson.  They  were  too  young 
for  us  to  leave  them  there,  and  a  change  of  schools  was  not 
desirable.  I  expressed  this  desire  to  the  Bishop,  and  he  told 
me  that  he  thought  that  could  be  arrranged.  But  when  we 
got  to  Greenville  the  Fifth  Street  Church  trouble,  in  Wil- 
mington, presented  a  problem  the  solution  of  which  no  one 
wished  to  attempt.  So  the  burden  was  placed  on  my  shoul- 
ders ;  and  as  this  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  cases  in 
the  history  of  Methodism,  I  shall  endeavor  to  give  a  his- 
tory of  the  whole  affair  in  detail.  I  do  this  more  carefully, 
that  all  who  may  wish  to  know  the  true  story  of  Fifth  Street 
Church,  may  have  the  facts  and  figures  at  hand. 

There  was  a  young  lawyer  there,  who  was  formerly  a 
cotton  mill  operative,  but  he  had  studied  law,  obtained  li- 
cense to  practice,  and  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  was 
a  member  of  Fifth  Street  Church,  and  soon  became  very  ac- 
tive in  church  work.  The  church  had  decided  to  build  a 
new  house  of  worship,  and  had  borrowed  four  thousand  dol- 
lars from  the  Wilmington  Savings  and  Trust  Company.  They 
purchased  a  strip  of  land  in  order  to  enlarge  their  lot,  and 
used  one  thousand  dollars  for  that  purpose.  The  lot  pur- 
chased cost  them  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  and  the  Ladies 


70  RECOLI.ECTIONS 

Aid  Society  furnished  three  hundred  dollars.  That  left 
three  thousand  dollars  in  hand  with  which  to  begin  the 
church.  They  did  not  intend  to  build  a  costly  church,  but 
such  a  one  as  they  could  pay  for.  The  congregation  was 
not  wealthy,  but  composed  of  a  number  of  good  spiritual 
people.  This  young  lawyer,  whose  name  was  John  C.  Davis, 
told  the  official  board  that  if  they  would  let  him  have  the 
three  thousand  dollars  in  hand,  he  would  pay  them  10  per 
cent,  interest,  and  pay  them  the  money  when  they  were  ready 
to  build.  The  strange  thing  about  the  transaction  was  that 
they  let  him  have  the  money  to  use  without  any  security. 
He  took  the  money,  and  began  to  operate  in  real  estate  with 
it.  He  bought  several  little  sand  hill  lots,  and  built  some 
small  houses  on  them.  When  the  official  board  of  the  church 
called  for  the  m"oney,  he  told  them  that  he  had  it  invested 
where  it  was  bringing  a  large  per  cent;  and  that  if  they 
would  allow  him  to  manage  the  business,  he  would  have  a 
much  finer  church  built  than  they  had  intended  to  build,  and 
would  deed  them  real  estate  enough  to  pay  the  interest  on 
the  money  to  build  the  church,  and  raise  a  sinking  fund  to 
pay  off  the  entire  indebteness.  He  induced  them  to  borrow 
ten  thousand  dollars  additional  from  the  Savings  Bank,  mak- 
ing the  entire  amount  borrowed  from  the  bank  fourteen 
thousand  dollars,  for  which  they  agreed  to  pay  eight  per  cent 
interest.  The  Board  of  Trustees  went  into  this  arrangement 
without  any  authority  from  the  church.  The  whole  trans- 
action was  the  most  remarkable  of  any  that  I  ever  heard 
of;  and  the  strange  part  of  it  was  that  business  men  and 
bankers  should  have  entered  into  any  such  arrangement. 
But  Davis  had  succeeded  in  making  the  people  believe  that 
he  was  a  financial  prodigy,  such  as  had  never  appeared  any- 
where. Under  Davis'  direction  they  proceeded  to  build  a 
fine  church,  that  cost  more  than  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
His  fame  spread  over  the  State  as  one  of  the  most  liberal 


AND  Observations  71 

and  consecrated  men  that  any  one  had  ever  knovm.  He 
went  on  borrowing  money,  and  mortgaging  all  the  property 
that  the  church  owned,  including  that  which  he  had  bought 
with  the  three  thousand  dollars,  as  well  as  the  church  and 
the  parsonage.  It  seems  that  nobody  knew  anything  about 
the  indebtedness  of  the  church,  and  the  people  generally 
thought  that  Davis  had  grown  suddenly  rich,  and  was  using 
his  great  wealth  to  build  up  the  church. 

In  order  to  keep  up  his  work,  and  prevent  a  sudden  col- 
lapse, he  began  to  borrow  money  on  his  own  account.  The 
Board  of  Trustees  had  mortgaged  everything  the  church 
owned,  and  in  many  instances  there  were  second  mortgages 
on  the  church  property.  So  Davis  went  to  a  number  of  the 
members  of  the  church,  who  owned  their  homes,  and  told 
them  if  they  would  give  mortgages  on  their  homes,  he  would 
pay  them  ten  per  cent  on  the  money,  and  provide  for  paying 
off  the  mortgages.  In  this  way  he  raised  several  thou- 
sand dollars  that  was  never  used  for  the  church  in  any 
way.  I  found  this  out  soon  after  I  went  to  Wilmington.  I 
put  a  statement  in  the  daily  papers  of  Wilmington  that  it 
was  our  purpose  to  pay  the  debt  on  the  church,  and  that  if 
any  one  who  had  loaned  Davis  money,  could  show  that  any 
of  it  went  into  the  church,  we  would  see  that  it  was  paid  to 
them.  For  the  .bubble  had  burst,  and  there  were  a  great 
many  who  found  themselves  robbed.  The  morning  this  no- 
tice came  out,  I  was  visited  by  a  great  many  from  whom 
Davis  had  gotten  money.  I  took  down  their  names,  and  the 
amount  they  let  him  have,  and  the  security  he  gave;  in  fact 
all  the  conditions  of  his  securing  their  funds.  To  ray  sur- 
prise, I  found  that  he  had  gotten  from  various  persons,  not 
one  dollar  of  which  went  into  the  church,  about  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars. 

About  this  time  Dr.  Thomas  F.  Wood,  a  leading  physi- 
cian of  Wilmington,  who  had  a  relative,  a  Mrs.  Fanning,  on 


72  Recollections 

whose  home  Davis  had  secured  a  mortgage,  and  borrowed 
money  on  it,  had  Davis  arrested  for  obtaining  money  under 
false  pretense.  Soon  after  he  was  arrested,  there  was  pub- 
lished in  the  daily  papers  of  Wihnington  a  statement  that 
contradicted  a  statement  that  I  had  published  as  to  the  con- 
dition of  Fifth  Street  Church.  In  this  statement  he  said: 
"I  do  not  ask  it  back,  but  if  I  had  what  I  have  given  the 
church,  I  could  pay  all  of  my  debts."  In  reply  to  this  state- 
ment, I  said:  "I  do  not  care  to  enter  into  any  controversy 
^vith  Mr.  Davis,  as  he  is  in  the  hands  of  the  criminal  law, 
but  so  far  as  Fifth  Street  Church  is  concerned  I  have  this 
to  say:  Fifth  Street  Church  could  never  have  been  the  re- 
cipient of  any  man's  munificence,  since  it  owes  for  all  it 
has." 

I  saw  that  there  would  be  war  on  me,  and  that  I  would 
be  held  responsible  for  the  arrest  of  Davis.  For  notwith- 
standing he  had  swindled  the  people  to  such  an  extent,  there 
were  many  who  still  believed  that  he  did  not  intend  to  do 
wrong.  I  further  saw  that  he  could  not  be  convicted  on  the 
charge  upon  which  he  was  arrested,  for  in  that  case,  there 
was  nothing  more  than  misplaced  confidence.  In  view  of 
these  facts,  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty,  the  success  of  my  work 
depending  on  it,  to  give  the  facts  in  my  posession  to  the 
Solicitor.  I  called  upon  him,  and  told  him  he  could  not  con- 
vict Davis  on  the  charge  on  which  he  was  arrested.  He 
thought  I  came  in  the  interest  of  Davis  and  flew  in  a  passion 
and  asked  how  I  knew.  I  told  him  I  was  not  there  in  the 
interest  of  Davis,  but  in  the  interest  of  the  State.  He  cool- 
~ed  dov.'n,  and  said,  "How  can  you  aid  me  ?"  I  told  him  I  had 
in  my  possession  a  number  of  cases  involving  fraud,  false 
pretense  and  forgery ;  and  could  give  him  the  names  of  those 
who  would  go  before  the  grand  jury  and  state  the  facts.  He 
said :  "That  is  just  v/hat  I  v/ant,  for  I  have  known  for  some 
time  he  was  carrying  on  a  swindling  game  on  a  large  scale. 


AND  Observations  73 

but  I  could  not  get  the  evidence."  I  gave  him  the  names 
of  six  of  the  strongest  cases,  the  victims  in  which  had  given 
me  these  facts,  in  answer  to  my  published  offer  to  pay  any 
person  whose  money  had  been  fraudulently  secured,  if  it 
was  used  in  the  church.  He  sent  these  persons  before  the 
grand  jury,  and  had  six  true  bills  found,  involving  fraud, 
perjury  and  forgery.  These  witnesses  had  no  idea  of  being- 
called  into  court  as  witnesses  when  they  gave  me  the  facts, 
and  were  very  much  surprised  when  they  were  summoned, 
and  sent  before  the  grand  jury  to  tell  what  they  knew.  Some 
of  them  came  to  me  to  know  who  had  them  summoned.  I 
told  them  the  State  of  ]N^orth  Carolina,  and  all  they  had  to 
do  was  to  tell  what  they  knew. 

They  did  this  and  the  grand  jury  brought  in  the  bills. 
When  Davis  and  his  lawyers  came  into  court  they  were  in 
High  glee,  for  tKey  were  satisfied  he  could  not  be  convicted 
on  the  charge  on  which  he  was  arrested.  But  when  the  So- 
licitor informed  the  Court  of  the  other  indictments,  that 
gave  quite  a  different  turn  to  the  case.  The  counsel  for 
Davis  said  they  had  no  knowledge  of  these  indictments,  and 
were  not  prepared  for  trial.  They  asked  for  and  obtained  a 
continuance  of  the  case  until  next  court.  Davis  was  put 
back  in  jail,  and  his  attorneys  prepared  for  his  defense.  At 
the  next  court  they  had  trained  Davis  to  plead  insanity. 
He  made  the  plea,  and  the  court  sustained  it,  and  he  was 
sent  to  the  Asylum  for  the  insane  to  remain  until  cured. 
He  was  there  about  five  years,  and  was  discharged,  and  al- 
lowed to  go  free.  He  went  to  Washington  City,  and  played 
a  similiar  game;  he  was  arrested  there  and  tried,  and  plead 
insanity  again;  but  the  plea  did  not  save  him.  He  was 
convicted  and  sent  to  the  penitentiary  where  he  was  when 
I  last  heard  of  him.  Thus  ended  a  remarkable  career,  that 
cost  me  three  years  of  hard  work,  and  much  anxiety.  When 
I  went  to  Fifth  Street  it  looked  like  a  hopeless  case.     The 


74  Recollections 

congTegation  had  lost  heart,  and  the  church  at  large  did  not 
have  any  hope  of  paying  the  debt.  They  owed  one  hundred 
dollars  for  light,  and  the  light  and  power  company  had  cut 
off  the  lights,  and  I  had  to  assume  responsibility  for  the  one 
hundred  dollars  before  we  could  have  any  lights  for  the 
church.  They  were  paying  thirty-three  dollars  a  month  for 
lights.  I  cut  that  down  to  eleven  dollars,  and  paid  the 
amount  due,  so  that  we  could  use  the  church  at  night. 

Rev.  C.  P.  Jerome  was  stationed  at  Southport,  and  Rev. 
H.  B.  Anderson  was  on  the  Scott's  Hill  charge.  They  were 
publishing  a  little  paper  in  Southport.  I  took  that  over,  and 
began  to  publish  the  Atlantic  Methodist.  I  did  that  simply 
to  bring  the  church  matter  before  the  general  church  and 
make  the  paper  a  medium  of  appeal  for  help.  I  gave  the 
money  received  for  subscriptions  to  the  fund  for  saving  the 
church,  and  secured  advertising  enough  to  pay  for  publish- 
ing the  paper.  The  editorial  work,  and  the  mailing  of  the 
paper,  and  all  the  business  of  this  weekly,  I  did  as  a  gratuity. 
The  paper  was  well  received,  and  appeals  through  it  for 
help  began  to  tell  at  once.  We  soon  had  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred subscribers,  and  that  much  ready  money  gave  me  a 
start.  Besides  this,  I  published  the  railroad  schedules,  and 
got  an  annual  pass  over  the  roads  that  enabled  me  to  go  out 
and  raise  money  for  the  church. 

It  was  not  long  before  hope  in  the  congregation  revived, 
and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  great  many  of  the 
members  had  lost  thir  homes,  or  had  to  struggle  to  pay  off 
the  mortgages  that  they  had  been  induced  by  Davis  to  make, 
they  began  to  help  as  they  were  able. 

Notwithstanding  the  immense  debt  on  the  church,  and  the 
efforts  of  those  holding  mortgages  to  foreclose,  we  went  on 
regularly  with  our  church  work.  The  Sunday  School  began 
to  grow  and  the  congregation  increased  in  numbers  and  in- 
terest.   When  I  got  to  Wilmington,  Davis  was  still  in  charge 


AND  ObSEEVATIONS  75 

of  everything.  He  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
School,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  the  ruling 
spirit  among  the  Stewards.  I  called  on  him  for  an  expla- 
nation of  the  church's  financial  condition,  and  he  promised 
to  explain  everything;  but  only  promised  from  day  to  day. 
The  situation  grew  worse  rapidly.  I  told  him  I  would  have 
a  meeting  of  the  official  board  and  he  must  resign  all  official 
positions  immediately.  He  said  he  would  go  to  the  meeting 
and  tender  his  resignation.  He  did  so;  but  on  resigning 
expressed  his  deep  love  for  the  church,  and  said  he  could 
yet  straighten  up  everything  if  he  had  a  chance.  I  told  him 
I  had  waited  for  some  time  for  an  explanation,  which  he 
had  promised  from  day  to  day,  but  had  not  given  me,  and 
I  had  determined  that  I  would  wait  no  longer.  Some  of  the 
officials  were  inclined  to  give  Davis  a  further  trial.  But  I 
told  them  Davis  would  get  out  or  I  would;  and  they  could 
choose  between  us.  If  he  remained  in  charge  of  things  as 
he  had  done,  I  would  ask  to  be  relieved  of  the  charge  at 
once.  Then  they  agreed  to  let  him  go.  Immediately  after 
this  he  was  arrested,  and  I  published  all  I  could  find  out 
about  the  condition  of  the  church.  It  was  not  my  purpose 
to  take  any  part  in  the  prosecution  of  Davis ;  but  when  he 
and  his  attorneys  began  to  make  war  on  me,  then  I  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  solicitor  the  facts  which  drove  him  into 
the  insane  plea  and  which  rid  the  church  and  community 
of  him.  As  all  the  mortgages  on  the  property  had  been 
made  without  any  authority  from  the  church,  and  as  I  had 
drafted,  and  had  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  ITorth 
Carolina,  a  bill  that  defined  the  power  of  Trustees  of  church 
property  under  the  general  act  of  incorporation  of  religious 
societies  in  North  Carolina,  I  was  prepared  to  show  that 
these  mortgages  could  not  legally  be  foreclosed.  I  told  the 
people  who  held  the  mortgages  that  we  proposed  to  pay  the 
debt ;  that  it  was  a  moral  obligation ;  but  if  we  allowed  those 


T6  Eecollections 

who  held  the  first  mortgages  to  foreclose  it  would  leave  the 
others  without  anything,  and  the  church  in  no  condition  to 
pa3^  The  Board  of  Trustees  very  naturally  objected  to  this 
course.  I  saw  they  would  prefer  to  let  the  church  go,  to  hav- 
ing their  acts  thus  called  in  question;  but  I  had  decided  to 
save  the  church,  and  I  stood  firmly  by  this  plan.  I  went 
ahead  raising  money  and  trying  in  every  honorable  way  to 
meet  the  condition.  The  Wilmington  Savings  and  Trust 
Company  held  the  first  mortgage,  and  wanted  to  foreclose. 
I  told  the  president  of  the  bank  he  could  not  foreclose,  for 
the  mortgage  was  not  legally  made.  He  became  angry  and 
talked  insultingly  to  me.  I  told  him  if  he  wished  to  test  the 
matter  the  courts  were  open  to  him,  and  he  would  see  that 
his  mortgage  was  not  legally  worth  the  paper  on  which  it 
was  written;  and  referred  him  to  the  law  requiring  Boards 
of  Trustees  to  be  authorized  by  the  Committee  or  Board 
having  charge  of  the  finances  of  the  church,  or  by  the  con- 
gregation in  official  meeting,  before  they  had  any  right  to 
alienate  church  property  in  any  way.  He  went  to  see  his 
lawyer,  and  after  considering  the  law,  he  told  the  irate  bank 
president  that  the  law  was  as  I  stated  it.  I  told  him  we 
did  not  desire  to  keep  the  property  unless  we  could  pay  for 
it,  and  that  it  was  my  purpose  to  pay  every  dollar  the  church 
owed ;  but  we  must  have  time  to  do  it. 

This  proved  to  be  a  very  thankless  work  for  me;  but  I 
knew  I  was  right,  and  that  my  intentions  were  good,  so  I 
faced  the  situation  with  a  bold  front,  and  let  it  be  known 
that  this  property  and  church  membership  had  to  be  saved. 
Of  course  there  were  many  things  said  that  were  not  compli- 
mentary to  me;  but  there  were  a  number  of  good  men  in 
Wilmington  who  stood  by  me,  and  gave  me  all  the  assistance 
in  their  power. 

During  1892  we  had  a  good  revival  in  the  church  not- 
withstanding our  difficulties.     At  the  meeting  of  the  College 


AND  Observations  77 

of  Bishops,  Bishop  W,  W.  Duncan  v/as  assigned  to  preside 
over  our  conference.  I  Vv'rote  to  him  to  come  and  look  into 
the  affairs  of  Fifth  Street  Church  and  preach  for  us.  He 
did  this  and  became  a  great  help  to  me.  He  sav/  through 
the  situation,  and  approved  of  my  course.  He  was  a  hero, 
and  as  true  as  steel.     I  shall  always  revere  his  memory. 

I  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension 
held  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  secured  a  conditional 
gift  of  three  thousand  dollars.  I  had  devised  a  scheme 
to  bond  the  church  debt  for  ten  years,  in  four  per  cent  cou- 
pon bonds.  These  bonds  were  in  the  denomination  of  twen- 
ty-five dollars,  and  tv/o  thousand  dollars  of  them  were  taken 
on  the  condition  that  they  would  be  given  to  the  church  if  the 
church  w^as  saved.  Rev.  David  Morton,  D.  D.,  was  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension,  and  he  insisted  that  the 
three  thousand  dollars  donated  should  not  be  paid  until  the 
bond  debt  had  been  reduced  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  I 
made  haste  to  secure  enough  money  to  reduce  the  debt  to  a 
bonded  debt  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars ;  and  thereby  met 
the  condition  of  the  donation  from  the  Board. 


78  Recollections 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Fifth  Street  Church  Continued. 

Our  Conference  met  in  Goldsboro,  December  1892.  Bishop 
W.  W.  Ducan  presided.  I  had  gotten  hold  of  things 
at  Fifth  Street  Church  very  well  by  this  time.  The  Bishop 
had  already  been  a  great  help  to  me,  and  he  urged  the  Con- 
ference to  help  me  in  my  work.  This  made  the  work  lighter, 
and  gave  me  encouragement.  Nothing  of  special  interest 
occurred  at  this  Conference.  I  placed  Fifth  Street  in  nomina- 
tion as  the  place  of  the  next  Conference,  and  the  Confer- 
ence had  become  enough  interested  to  choose  that  church  as 
the  place  for  the  next  session.  We  hoped  to  get  up  enough 
interest  by  the  session  of  the  Conference  to  wipe  out  the 
whole  debt,  and  free  the  church  that  it  might  go  forward  in 
a  great  work  for  the  Master.  I  was  President  of  the  Board 
of  Church  Extension  of  the  jSTorth  Carolina  Conference, 
and  I  thought  what  money  we  had  on  hand  would  do  more 
good  in  helping  to  liquidate  the  debt  on  Fifth  Street  Church 
than  in  any  other  way.  Bishop  Duncan  thought  so,  and  I 
talked  with  some  of  the  laymen  who  represented  country 
charges,  and  needed  help  very  much,  and  they  all  agreed 
that  it  would  be  best  to  apply  the  collections  in  hand  for 
church  extension  in  that  way.  Brother  N.  M.  Lawrence, 
who  was  a  lay  member  offered  a  resolution  instructing  the 
Board  of  Church  Extension  to  so  apply  the  collections  for 
1892.  The  amount  appropriated  by  the  Conference  Board 
of  Church  Extension  was  $830.00. 

I  quote  from  the  files  of  the  Atlantic  Methodist,  which  I 
have  kept,  of  December  13th,  1893,  the  following  statement: 
"Two  years  ago  Fifth  Street  Church  owed  about  $35,000.00 
in  round  numbers.     This  debt  was  created  in  building  the 


AND  ObSEEVATIONS  79 

church.  The  church  had  for  all  this  money  the  excellent 
church,  the  parsonage,  and  several  small  houses.  All  this 
property  was  under  mortgage,  and  the  debt  was  drawing  in- 
terest at  8  per  cent.  We  sold  all  this  outside  property  to 
those  who  held  the  mortgages,  and  in  that  way  reduced  the 
debt  $8,874,00  and  paid  nearly  $1,500.00  accrued  interest 
from  money  that  we  raised.  We  then  bonded  $16,375.00, 
of  the  remaining  debt  in  4  per  cent  coupon  bonds,  payable 
the  first  day  of  October,  1902.  The  interest  on  this  is  payable 
the  first  day  of  October  each  year.  We  still  owe  $8,975.00, 
but  our  creditors  made  donations  amounting  to  $1,349.00, 
leaving  us  still  in  debt  $7,626.00.  The  Board  of  Church 
Extension  donated  $3,000.00  and  our  Conference  Board 
donated  $830.00,  still  leaving  a  balance  of  $3,826.00  to  raise, 
which  sum  v/e  have  secured  in  cash  and  subscriptions  ex- 
cept $300.00  which  the  Board  of  Trustees  will  settle  by  note. 
We  are  very  anxious  to  secure  the  amount  subscribed  as 
early  as  possible.  It  is  not  a  small  job  to  collect  such  a  sum 
in  small  donations.  We  ask  the  good  people  who  have  so 
nobly  come  to  our  rescue  to  let  us  have  the  money  at  their 
earliest  convenience,  so  that  Ave  may  let  our  long  suffering 
creditors  have  their  money.  We  heartily  thank  the  North 
Carolina  Conference  for  the  noble  response  that  they  have 
made  to  our  call  for  help ;  and  all  the  friends  who  contributed 
to  help  us  in  this  work. 

When  the  Conference  tendered  a  vote  of  thanks  for  our 
part,  we  thought  we  ought  to  thank  the  Confernec,  and  we 
did  from  our  heart,  and  repeat  the  thanks  to  them  in  this 
connection. 

The  Lord  has  been  with  us  in  all  this  work,  and  all  our 
plans  have  been  successful.  To  Him  be  all  the  glory,  now 
and  forever." 

When  this  statement  was  made  we  had  out  $16,375.00  in 
bonded  debt.     However,  $2,000.00  of  these  bonds  were  to 


80  Eecollections 

be  a  donation,  v.'lien  the  holders  could  be  assured  that  the 
church  property  could  bo  saved ;  but  Dr.  Morton,  the  Sec- 
retary of  our  Board  of  Church  Extension  Avould  not  turn 
over  the  $3,000.00  donated  until  the  bonded  debt  had  been 
reduced  to  $15,000.00,  and  sent  the  check  to  Mr.  Jas.  F. 
Post,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  Railroad, 
to  get  an  attoreny  and  see  that  all  bonds  signed  and  unsigned 
v/ere  burned.  We  had  to  raise  $1,375.00  before  we  could 
get  the  $3,000.00  donated  by  the  Board,  as  Dr.  Morton 
would  take  no  risk.  If  there  had  been  loose  management  by 
the  officials  at  Fifth  Street  Church,  there  was  none  with 
him.  So  we  secured  tlie  additional  sum  by  hard  work,  and 
Col.  A.  M.  '\Vaddell  was  employed  by  Brother  Post,  and  all 
oustanding  bonds,  except  the  $15,000.00  Vv^ere  burned,  and 
the  $2,000.00  were  eventually  given  according  to  promise, 
so  that  when  I  left  the  church  at  the  end  of  my  three  years' 
pastorate  there  were  $13,000.00  of  bonded  debt  to  pay. 

I  was  president  of  the  Conference  Board  of  Church  Ex- 
tension, and  I  got  the  Conference  to  allow  us  to  make  an 
assessment  on  the  church  of  $800.00  a  year  to  pay  the  in- 
terest on  these  bonds ;  and  advised  the  church  to  raise  at 
least  $1,500.00  as  a  sinking  fund  to  pay  the  bonds.  We 
had  raised  in  cash  in  two  3'ears,  under  the  most  adverse 
circumstances  $0,060.00,  outside  of  all  donations  from  the 
Boards  of  Church  Extension,  and  tlie  amount  of  debt  liqui- 
dated by  turning  over  the  outside  ]n'operty  to  those  who  held 
the  mortgages  on  it.  It  seemed  to  us  that  if  that  much 
could  be  done  in  two  years,  with  ouly  $13,000.00  to  raise 
in  ten  years,  with  the  conference  paying  the  interest  on  the 
bonded  debt,  that  the  debt  was  in  fairly  good  shape. 

Wliile  I  was  grappling  v/ith  this  debt,  I  had  raised  $2,- 
000.00,  and  had  the  money  in  the  Bank  of  Xew  Hanover, 
and  that  failed.  Col.  John  Wilder  Atkinson  was  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Savings  and  Trust  Co.,  and  he  assured  me  that 


AND  OBSERVATIOlSrS  81 

the  Bank  of  ]^ew  Hanover  was  perfectly  safe,  and  when  I 
tried  to  move  my  deposits  to  the  Savings  Bank,  he  said  if 
anything  happens  to  this  bank,  I  will  give  you  credit,  dollar 
for  dollar  for  all  your  deposits  here.  So  when  the  Bank  of 
mew  Hanover  failed,  I  saw  Col.  Atkinson,  and  he  said: 
"Yes,  that  bank  will  pay  every  dollar,  and  I  will  give  yon 
credit  for  all  the  money  you  have  there."  I  said  to  him, 
if  you  will  give  me  dollar  for  dollar  for  all  we  owe  jon,  I 
will  pay  you  with  the  script  on  the  Bank  of  New  Hanover. 
He  consulted  with  oue  of  the  directors,  and  said  if  you  wil^ 
do  that  in  two  days  I  will  accept  the  script  on  that  bank.. 
I  went  out  and  sold  $13,600,00  worth  of  our  bonds,  and' 
settled  a  debt  of  $15,275.00  due  the  Wilmington  Savings- 
and  Trust  Co.  The  failure  of  the  Bank  of  New  Hanover- 
enabled  me  to  bond  the  debt,  and  in  that  way  helped  me?* 
The  raising  of  $9,660.00  in  small  donations  in  two  yeai's^ 
and  settling  $35,000.00  by  bonding  $15,000.00  in  four  i>er 
cent  bonds,  and  securing  $3,830.00  from  the  Boards  of 
Church  Extension,  and  settling  $8,874.00  by  giving  the 
mortgaged  property  to  those  who  held  the  mortgages  on  it;: 
and  the  property  would  not  have  brought  that  amount  if  if 
had  been  put  on  the  market ;  and  securing  $2,000.00  of  the 
$15,000.00  bonded  debt  in  conditional  subscription,  for  these 
bonds  were  eventually  given,  which  made  the  amount  actually 
raised  in  two  years  $11,960.00,  does  not  seem  a  very  great 
work  under  ordinar}^  conditions,  but  there  was  want  of  faith 
in  the  possibility  of  settling  the  debt,  and  it  was  in  a  time 
of  great  financial  stringency.  We  had  a  general  panic  in 
1893,  and  all  business  was  greatly  depressed.  Davis  had 
bought  a  chime  of  bells  for  the  church  on  his  own  account, 
for  which  a  dollar  had  not  been  paid.  The  McShane  Bell 
Company  tried  to  get  me  to  keep  the  bells,  but  I  did  not  feel 
warranted  in  appealing  to  the  general  church  for  a  chime 

6 


82  Recollectio^ts 

of  bells,  and  declined  to  keep  them.  They  never  removed 
them  as  long  as  I  was  stationed  there.  The  organ  had  a 
mortgage  of  $2,500.00  on  it,  and  we  settled  that  and  kept  it. 
•  Rev.  W.  L.  Cunninggim  followed  me  and  gave  his  time 
and  attention  to  his  pastoral  work,  and  did  not  concern  him- 
self about  the  bonded  debt,  as  the  Conference  was  paving 
the  interest,  and  the  bonds  would  not  fall  due  until  1902. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Hall  followed  Brother  Cunninggim,  and  was 
there  when  the  bonds  fell  due,  and  the  Board  of  Church  Ex- 
tension came  to  his  help,  and  as  the  bonds  were  held  by  two 
men  who  bought  them  with  script  on  the  Bank  of  New  Han- 
over, that  never  paid  over  45  per  cent,  they  felt  that  they 
3iad  saved  so  much  by  buying  the  bonds,  and  getting  four 
per  cent  interest  for  ten  years,  that  they  could  afford  to 
Set  the  church  have  the  bonds  for  seventy-five  per  cent.  So 
the  $13,000.00  of  bonded  debt  was  settled  for  $9,000.00; 
and  I  had  the  honor  to  give  the  last  $100.00  that  settled  the 
bonded  debt. 

I  have  given  this  history  in  such  length  to  let  the  church 
know  all  the  facts  in  the  case,  as  I  have  been  informed  a 
different  account  has  been  given  of  the  affair;  and  it  is  not 
out  of  place  to  set  history  straight. 

'  There  is  a  record  on  high  that  will  show  every  man's  work; 
and  there  will  be  no  mistakes  up  there,  or  misunderstandings. 

I  am  now  in  the  evening  of  life;  I  cannot  expect  to  toil 
on  here  many  years  more ;  but  I  am  thankful  that  I  have 
tried  to  do  my  duty  under  all  circumstances. 


AK^D  Obseevatioi^s  83 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

Cextestaey  Church,  Xew  Bee^t — Hay  Street  ChuecHj 
Fayetteville. 

At  our  Conference  tliat  was  held  in  Durham,  !N^.  C.  in 
December,  1894,  I  was  sent  to  Centenary  Church,  New 
Bern,  N.  C.  During  the  Conference,  Dr.  Black  came  to 
me  and  asked  me  if  it  would  suit  me  to  go  to  the  Washing- 
ton District;  he  said  Bishop  Wilson,  (who  presided  at  that 
Conference),  desired  to  give  me  an  appointment  that  would 
be  agreeable  to  me,  and  had  asked  him  to  speak  to  me  about 
it.  I  told  him  that  I  had  no  objection  to  that  appointment. 
He  said  to  me:  *'I  will  change  with  you  if  you  prefer  the 
Warrenton  District."  I  told  him  that  was  very  kind  of 
him;  but  that  I  Vv'ould  not  have  him  to  move,  and  would  be 
\^dlling  to  go  to  the  Washington  District.  He  said:  "Well, 
that  will  be  your  appointment,  but  say  nothing  about  it;  I 
would  not  have  told  you  except  at  the  request  of  the 
Bishop."  But  when  the  appointments  were  read  I  was 
assigned  to  Centenary  Church,  as  above  stated.  I  learned 
afterwards  that  I  was  dowTi  for  the  W^ashington  District 
until  just  before  Conference  adjourned.  Rev.  G.  A.  Ogles- 
by  had  been  held  up  to  be  made  missionary  secretary,  but 
the  Board  of  Missions  would  not  elect  a  field  secretary,  and 
at  the  last  moment  I  was  sent  to  Xew  Bern,  and  he  to  the 
Yfashington  District. 

The  preacher  who  had  been  at  Xew  Bern  expected  a 
change,  but  did  not  get  the  appointment  he  expected,  and 
went  back  to  his  charge  very  much  dissatisfied,  and  told  his 
people  that  he  had  been  changed  for  my  accommodation,  and 
created  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction.  He  cried  over  the 
matter,  and  appealed  to  the  s^Tnpathies  of  his  people,  and 


84  Recollections 

created  quite  a  stir.  I  told  the  Presiding  Elder  that  I  was 
willing  to  go  to  the  appointment  from  which  I  was  taken  to 
accommodate  another  brother,  and  that  he  knew  all  the  facts. 
But  he  would  not  state  them  to  the  people,  and  I  said  I 
would  go  where  I  was  sent  and  take  the  consequences.  I 
went  to  ISTew  Bern,  and  after  I  had  been  there  a  month,  and 
had  my  work  well  in  hand,  I  wrote  Bishop  Wilson  of  the 
trouble  that  had  been  caused,  and  that  I  had  been  charged 
with  having  the  preacher  moved,  and  that  had  been  used  to 
mj  prejudice.  He  wrote  me  promptly,  and  said :  "I  bear 
you  record  that  you  had  nothing  to  do  with  your  appoint- 
ment, and  did  not  expect  to  go  to  'Rew  Bern."  I  read  the 
letter  to  the  congregation  and  it  removed  all  prejudice,  and 
I  had  a  good  year. 

My  wife  was  sick  nearly  all  the  year.  I  took  her  to  Buf- 
falo Lithia  Springs  with  the  hope  of  giving  her  relief,  but 
she  received  little,  if  any,  benefit.  She  spent  a  month  at 
Chase  City,  Ya.,  and  Panacea  Springs,  'N.  C,  but  continued 
to  suffer  so  much  that  I  took  her  to  St.  Lukes  Hospital  in 
Richmond,  Va.,  and  placed  her  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Hunter 
McGuire.  He  operated  on  her.  and  she  was  relieved  for 
a  time. 

Our  Conference  met  in  Elizabeth  City  in  December,  1895. 
Bishop  Wilson  presided  again.  My  wife  was  in  the  hospital 
in  Richmond  during  the  session  of  Conference.  I  told  the 
Bishop  that  I  desired  a  change.  He  was  not  inclined  to  move 
me,  and  vrould  not  hear  to  it  until  I  told  him  that  Dr.  Mc- 
Guire said  my  wife  could  not  live  in  that  climate.  When 
I  told  him  that  he  said:  "That  is  a  consideration,"  and 
granted  my  request.  He  sent  me  to  Hay  Street  Church, 
Fayetteville.  I  went  from  Elizabeth  City  to  Richmond  and 
took  my  wife,  who  had  sufliciently  recovered  to  leave  the 
hospital,  on  to  New  Bern,  and  we  moved  to  Fayetteville 
immediately.     The  preacher  at  Fayetteville  did  not  get  out 


AND  Observations  85 

of  the  parsonage  for  nearly  a  month,  and  we  had  to  board 
until  he  was  pleased  to  move.  I  always  made  it  a  point  to 
go  to  my  work  as  soon  as  I  could  after  Conference,  and  was 
careful  never  to  keep  my  successor  out  of  the  parsonage. 

Our  Conference  generally  meets  so  as  to  include  the  first 
Sunday  in  December,  and  if  the  preacher  delays  moving, 
the  weather  gets  bad,  and  moving  is  very  disagreeable. 

I  found  Fayetteville  thoroughly  under  the  whiskey  power. 
The  town  government  was  largely  controlled  by  a  whiskey 
ring,  and  I  do  not  believe  any  man  could  have  been  elected 
dog  killer  if  he  had  opposed  the  ring.  James  M.  Lamb,  one 
of  the  leading  members  of  our  church  there,  said  in  a  Dis- 
trict Conference  for  the  Fayetteville  District,  held  at  x\ber- 
deen,  that  the  whiskey  power  had  the  church  by  the  throat 
in  Fayetteville.  Bishop  Duncan,  who  was  presiding,  told 
Brother  Lamb  that  he  must  be  mistaken,  that  the  whiskey 
power  did  not  have  the  church  by  the  throat  anywhere;  but 
Lamb  stuck  to  his  statement.  When  I  was  sent  to  Fayette- 
ville, I  soon  became  aware  of  the  saloon  power.  I  saw  that 
prohibition  would  be  a  nullity  where  the  municipal  authori- 
ties would  not  enforce  the  law;  and  to  break  this  power,  I 
labored  to  have  a  dispensary  established  there,  as  a  stepping 
stone  to  the  prohibition  of  the  whiskey  traffic.  We  succeed- 
ed in  establishing  the  dispensary,  and  closing  fourteen  sa- 
loons. The  people  who  were  in  favor  of  saloons  were  very 
mad  about  it,  and  declared  that  the  business  of  the  town 
Avas  ruined.  I  could  not  go  into  a  crowd  anywhere  that  I 
would  not  hear  of  the  ruin  that  had  been  wrought  by  closing 
the  saloons.  I  passed  by  a  number  of  men  one  day,  and 
stopped  to  speak  with  them,  when  one  said :  "If  I  had  what 
I  have  in  money,  I  would  hit  the  grit,  and  get  away  from  this 
town."  I  asked  him  what  was  the  matter,  and  he  said :  "They 
have  closed  the  saloons  and  ruined  the  business  of  the  tov/n, 
and  grass  will  grow  in  our  streets."  I  said  to  him  that  I 


86  Recollections 

would  tell  him  au  anecdote,  that  a  few  years  ago  they  had 
a  prohibition  campaign  in  Kansas;  that  the  saloon  interest 
got  Senator  Vorhees  of  Indiana  to  canvass  against  prohibi- 
tion, and  while  making  a  speech,  he  asked  this  question: 
"Fellow  citizens  of  Kansas,  if  you  have  this  prohibitory 
law  what  will  you  Kansas  farmers  do  with  your  corn?" 
Kansas  is  a  great  corn  growing  State.  A  farmer  in  the 
audience  arose  and  said:  "Does  the  honorable  gentleman 
want  an  answer  to  that  question?"  Voorhees  said:  "Yes, 
I  repeat  it,  if  you  have  this  prohibitory  law  what  will  you 
Kansas  farmers  do  with  your  com?"  The  farmer  replied: 
"I  will  tell  you,  we  will  raise  more  pork  and  less  hell."  That 
reply  knocked  the  Senator  out;  and  if  we  raise  grass  in  the 
streets  of  Fayetteville,  we  will  raise  more  hay  and  less  hell 
here.  All  the  company  laughed  except  the  man  who  wanted 
to  leave  town  because  the  saloons  were  closed.  He  had  been 
interested  in  the  business,  and  was  too  sore  over  being  closed 
up  to  laugh  at  anything. 

I  would  not  make  a  false  impression  of  the  society  of 
Fayetteville  by  what  I  have  said  about  the  power  of  the 
whiskey  traffic  there.  ISTotwithstanding  the  fact  above  stated, 
Fayettevillt  had  in  it  the  finest  society  of  people  I  have 
known  anywhere  in  the  State. 

It  was  then  a  fine  place  to  live,  but  it  has  improved  in  every 
way  since.  Closing  the  saloons  was  the  beginning  of  im- 
provements at  Fayetteville  that  have  been  going  on  ever 
since.  The  dispensary  ran  about  three  years  and  six  months, 
and  then  through  the  efforts  of  a  man  who  went  to  the  Sen- 
ate of  North  Carolina  from  Fayetteville,  the  question  of 
license  or  prohibition  was  submitted  to  the  people,  and  to  the 
great  surprise  of  that  Senator,  the  county  went  two  to  one  for 
prohibition,  so  Cumberland  County  had  prohibition  for  some 
time  before  we  carried  the  State  for  state  wide  prohibition. 


AND  Obseevatiojsts  8V 

The  town  of  Fayetteville  at  this  time  is  one  of  the  most 
progressive  towns  in  the  State.  Thej  have  fine  schools,  fine 
churches,  well  paved  streets  and  prosperous  business  men. 
Where  those  who  were  opposed  to  prohibition  prophesied 
that  grass  would  grow  in  the  streets,  thej  have  paved  streets 
instead  of  mud  as  under  the  old  regime. 

There  were  many  who  sympathized  with  the  whiskey 
traffic  when  I  was  there,  and  my  efforts  to  close  the  saloons 
made  it  somewhat  unpleasant  for  me,  and  at  the  close  of  my 
second  year,  I  asked  to  be  relieved  of  the  charge.  I  was 
appointed  to  another  good  charge,  and  the  brother  who  was 
sent  to  Fayetteville  met  with  such  opposition  that  he  was 
sent  to  the  charge  to  which  I  was  assigned,  and  I  was  return- 
ed for  another  year.  I  had  a  large  majority  of  the  members 
in  sympathy  with  me,  and  my  third  year  in  Fayetteville  was 
a  pleasant  and  profitable  one.  It  v/as  a  mistake  for  me  to 
leave  when  I  did,  but  I  thought  my  work  there  was  about 
done,  and  I  asked  for  a  change. 

During  my  pastorate  at  Fayetteville  I  found  that  ihn 
late  Brother  E.  J.  Lilly  had  left  an  endowment  to  Hay 
Street  Church  of  five  thousand  dollars.  The  interest  on  this 
sum  was  to  pa}''  his  assessment  to  the  pastor  in  perpetuity  j 
and  this  money  was  loaned  to  a  cotton  mill  on  personal  se- 
curity. I  spoke  to  Dr.  E.  Floyd,  who  was  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  and  advised  him  to  collect  the  money  and 
invest  it  in  real  estate,  as  I  did  not  think  such  a  fund  as  that 
should  be  invested  in  personal  security,  it  mattered  not  how 
good.  He  collected  the  money  and  invested  four  thousand 
dollars  in  a  store,  and  loaned  the  other  thousand  on  real 
estate  security.  IsFot  long  after  this  investment,  real  estate 
in  Fayetteville  went  up  amazingly,  and  they  sold  the  store 
for  which  they  paid  four  thousand  dollars  for  eleven  tJiou- 
sand  five  hundred.  The  church  in  Fayetteville  had  desired 
for  sometime  to  build  a  new  house  of  worship,  and  the  profit 


•38  Recollections 

on  this  investment  gave  them  a  start.  They  went  forward 
and  built  one  of  the  best  arranged  churches  in  the  State 
and  now  thej  have  one  of  the  very  best  stations  in  the  Con- 
ference. 

Methodism  was  planted  in  Fayetteville  by  a  colored 
preacher  by  the  name  of  Henry  Evans.  In  1810  William 
Gapers,  (afterward  Bishop  Gapers),  was  stationed  there, 
and  wrote  an  interesting  account  of  Henry  Evans,  whom  he 
regarded  as  a  great  preacher  in  his  day,  and  a  most  excellent 
anan.  They  have  a  brick  church  there  that  is  owned  by  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Ghurch,  that  is  a  memo- 
i'ial  to  Henry  Evans,  the  humble  colored  shoe  maker  from 
Virginia,  who  first  preached  the  gospel  according  to  Meth- 
odism in  Fayetteville.  When  he  went  there  it  was  his  pur- 
pose to  preach  to  his  own  color  only,  but  his  preaching  had 
such  a  good  effect  upon  the  negroes  that  the  white  people 
went  to  hear  him,  and  many  of  them  were  converted.  At 
first  he  was  persecuted,  but  by  his  consecrated  life  he  lived 
down  all  opposition,  and  William  Gapers  said  he  was  famous 
when  he  went  there  as  pastor  of  the  church.  God  has  chosen 
the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  that  are 
mighty ;  and  in  the  history  of  Methodism,  He  has  frequently 
chosen  these  weak  instrmnents  to  accomplish  amazing  re- 
sults. Methodism  was  born  in  a  University,  and  her  found- 
ars  were  scholars,  but  they  never  depended  upon  human 
learning  for  success.  'No  church  has  been  a  greater  patron 
to,  and  a  greater  friend  of  education,  than  the  Methodist 
Ghurch,  but  we  have  always  known  that  our  education  must 
be  baptized  with  the  Spirit's  power  to  make  it  efficient  in 
the  salvation  of  souls. 

Some  of  our  greatest  scholars,  as  v/ell  as  greatest  preach- 
ers, never  went  to  Gollege.  Dr.  Adam  Glark  was  the  great- 
est Oriental  scholar  among  English  speaking  men,  and  he 
never  went'  to  a  college  or  university.     He  went  to  Kings- 


AND  Observations  89 

wood  School  for  a  short  time,  and  found  that  he  knew  all 
they  taught  there  and  left.  While  as  has  been  said,  "God 
has  no  use  for  our  ignorance,"  He  has  no  use  for  our  learning 
unless  that  learning  sits  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  and  learns 
of  Him.  things  that  cannot  be  taught  in  the  schools.  Henry 
Evans,  the  colored  preacher  of  Fayetteville,  sat  at  the  feet 
of  the  great  Teacher  and  learned  spiritual  lessons  that  made 
him  immortal. 

While  I  was  stationed  at  Fayetteville  Rev.  W.  H.  Moore, 
D.  D.,  was  my  Presiding  Elder.  He  was  very  brotherly 
and  helpful  to  me  in  my  v/ork.  It  was  about  this  time  that 
Rev.  A.  B.  Grumpier  Vv^as  disrupting  the  church  all  along 
the  Gape  Fear  River  with  his  doctrine  of  holiness,  and  the 
second  blessing.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the  ISTorth  Garo- 
lina  Gonference,  and  had  located  at  the  Gonference  held  in 
Kinston  in  December,  1896,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on 
an  evangelizing  campaign  on  the  holiness  plan.  He  began 
soon  after  his  location  to  attack  the  church,  and  the  ministry, 
and  charged  that  the  church  had  departed  from  the  doctrine 
of  holiness.  He  came  to  Fayetteville,  and  secured  the 
armory  and  held  a  meeting  for  three  weeks.  Knowing  that 
it  was  his  purpose  to  disrupt  the  church,  I  did  not  attend 
the  meeting,  but  went  quietly  along,  visiting  my  people  and 
holding  my  regular  services  just  as  though  he  was  not  there. 
I  did  not  discuss  him  or  his  work,  and  would  not  allow  any 
one  to  talk  to  me  about  him. 

I  had  written  a  book  on  "Spiritual  Life,"  and  the  fifth 
chapter  in  that  book  was  on  "Regeneration."  I  had  that 
<3hapter  printed  in  pamphlet  form  and  distributed  it  freely 
in  my  congregation.  I  sent  a  copy  to  Bishop  Wilson  and 
he  approved  it  in  strong  terms.  Some  one  put  a  copy  of  it 
on  Grumpler's  desk  in  the  armory,  and  I  was  informed  that 
he  spent  three  nights  in  an  attempt  to  reply  to  it.  But  I 
never  paid  any  attention  to  his  attacks.     The  meeting  finally 


90  Eecollectioks 

died  out,  and  no  harm  came  to  the  church  in  FayetteviHe 
from  his  attacks.  He  tore  up  the  church  in  many  communi- 
ties, however,  and  withdrew  from  the  church,  and  attempted 
to  establish  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  a  holiness  church. 
After  carrying  on  this  propaganda  for  several  years,  his 
organization  went  to  pieces,  and  he  came  back  to  the  church 
and  obtained  a  license  to  preach,  and  a  few  years  ago  his 
credentials  were  restored  to  him,  and  he  is  now  a  local  Elder 
in  our  church.  Several  of  our  preachers  went  off  in  the 
Grumpier  movement,  but  nearly  all  of  them  finally  came 
back  to  the  church.  I  am  not  stating  these  facts  to  condemn 
these  brethren.  I  thinly  they  were  honestly  mistaken,  and 
like  some  of  Mr.  Wesley's  helpers,  imagined  that  they  had 
received  larger  blessings  than  even  Mr.  Wesley  himseK  had 
received,  and  that  he  could  not  teach  them  anything.  The 
doctrine  of  holiness  has  always  been  a  fundamental  doctrine 
of  Methodism ;  but  there  is  danger  of  spiritual  pride  getting 
into  the  hearts  of  those  who  profess  this  high  attainment  of 
grace,  and  destroying  that  holiness  without  which  no  man 
can  see  the  Lord. 

This  so-called  holiness  work  brought  the  scriptural  doe- 
trine  of  sanctification,  and  holiness,  into  such  disrepute,  by 
the  conduct  of  many  who  professed  it,  that  even  the  scriptural 
terms  were  objected  to  by  many  good  people.  I  have  always 
contended  that  we  should  be  careful  not  to  object  to  this 
doctrine  because  of  its  abuse;  but  that  we  should  seek  to 
obtain,  and  live  the  doctrine  and  experience  taught  in  the 
word  of  God,  and  be  careful  not  to  think  more  highly  of  our- 
selves than  we  ought  to  think.  Spiritual  pride  is  the  great 
enemy  of  holiness,  and  those  who  have  attained  the  clearest 
evidence  of  a  holy  heart,  have  ever  been  the  humblest  in 
their  profession.  John  Fletcher  of  Madeley  was  one  of  the 
finest  illustrations  of  the  doctrine  of  perfect  love,  and  he  was 


AND  Obseevations  91 

one  of  the  humblest  of  men;  but  the  grace  that  was  in  him 
was  so  apparent  to  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  that 
his  influence  over  men  was  wonderful. 

I  have  stated  the  facts  with  regard  to  this  so-called  holi- 
ness movement  because  it  came  in  connection  with  mj  work 
at  Fajetteville.  Because  I  did  not  endorse  the  movement,  I 
was  charged  by  some  as  opposing  holiness,  and  the  M.  E. 
Church,  South,  was  charged  with  the  same  thing.  We  have 
always  believed  in  scriptural  sanctification  and  christian 
perfection,  but  we  draw  the  line  at  "crankification." 


92  RECOI.I.ECTIONS 

CHAPTEE  X. 
Hay  Street^  Fayetteville^  Continued. 

Ovir  Conference  met  in  Kinston  in  December,  1896. 
Bishop  A.  W.  Wilson  presided  for  the  fourth  time  consecu- 
tively. I  was  returned  to  Fayetteville.  I  was  informed 
that  it  was  the  intention  to  put  me  on  a  District,  and  as  I 
had  my  sons  in  school  in  Fayetteville,  I  asked  Dr.  Moore, 
my  Presiding  Elder,  to  ask  the  Bishop  to  allow  me  to  stay 
there  for  the  presnt,  which  he  kindly  did.  The  education 
of  my  children  was  a  matter  of  the  first  moment  with  me. 
We  had  a  fine  military  school  in  Fayetteville.  Col.  T.  J. 
Drewry  was  the  principal,  and  there  has  not  been  a  finer 
teacher  of  boys  in  my  day  in  North  Carolina.  He  died 
while  I  was  stationed  there,  and  I  took  his  remains  to 
Drewryville,  Southampton  County,  Virginia,  and  buried 
him.  The  school  began  to  go  down  after  his  death,  and  I  do 
not  think  its  equal  has  been  established  there  since.  I  do 
not  say  this  to  'the  disparagement  of  the  excellent  schools 
that  exist  there,  but  Drewry  was  an  extraordinary  teacher, 
and  did  a  great  deal  for  education  in  the  State  in  his  day. 
He  was  for  a  number  of  years  associated  "with  the  Homers 
in  that  excellent  school  in  Oxford.  The  v/hole  city  of  Fay- 
etteville grieved  at  his  death,  and  felt  that  it  was  a  great 
loss,  not  only  to  Fayetteville,  but  to  the  educational  force 
of  the  State. 

It  will  not  be  amiss  to  speak  of  that  great  man.  Bishop 
A.  W.  Wilson.  I  have  said  the  Conference  at  Kinston  was 
the  fourth  session  of  the  North  Carolina  Conference  at  which 
he  had  presided  in  succession.  I  remember  the  sermon  he 
preached  at  Kinston  on  Sunday  morning.     It  was  from  the 


AND  Observations  93 

third  chapter  of  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  the  21st 
and  26th  verses  inclusive.  That  sermon  was  a  body  of  divin- 
ity. Dr.  W.  H.  Moore,  a  very  able  preacher  himself,  said : 
"T  would  be  willing  to  black  his  shoes  and  sit  at  his  feet  daily 
to  hear  such  preaching  as  that."  When  the  Bishop  reached 
a  climax  in  his  argument  on  the  atonement,  and  the  gospel 
plan  of  salvation,  he  said:  ''I  see  it  now,"  and  there  was  a 
bright  young  lawyer  in  the  gallery,  who  had  followed  the 
argument  and  was  perfectly  lost  in  it,  who  exclaimed  aloud : 
"I  do  too."  I  was  stopping  at  that  young  lawyer's  father's 
and  at  dinner  while  speaking  of  the  sermon,  and  of  his  ex- 
clamation, he  said:  ''I  saw  the  whole  plan  of  salvation  as 
clear  as  a  sunbeam."  I  think  that  young  man  was  converted 
under  that  sermon. 

It  did  not  appear  strange  in  by  gone  years  for  men  to  be 
converted  under  the  preached  gospel.  Wliy  do  we  not  see 
such  things  now?  Our  gospel  is  the  same  it  always  was, 
and  human  nature  is  the  same.  We  hear  of  our  progress  in 
intelligence,  and  in  many  things,  but  it  does  seem  to  me  that 
we  are  not  preaching  the  gospel  with  the  old  time  power 
and  effectiveness.  Bishop  Wilson,  over  eighty  years  old, 
is  still  living,  and  though  feeble,  he  yet  preaches  the  gospel 
with  wonderful  power.  He  is  possessed  of  the  first  order 
of  mind,  received  thorough  collegiate  training,  and  was  a  law- 
yer with  bright  prospects  ahead  of  him,  but  gave  up  all  to 
preach  the  gospel,  which  after  all  is  the  highest  of  all  call- 
ings, and  says  now,  I  am  simply  a  preacher  of  the  gospel. 
He  never  turned  aside  to  do  anything  else  since  he  put  his 
hand  to  the  gospel  plow.  His  long  life  has  been  consecrated 
to  the  one  work,  and  although  he  has  filled  the  highest  posi- 
tion in  the  gift  of  his  church,  he  has  ever  esteemed  it  his 
highest  honor  to  preach  Christ  to  the  Avorld. 

Having  spoken  of  the  evil  effects  of  the  movement  in  the 
name  of  holiness  to  disrupt  the  church,   there   is  another 


94  Kecollections 

movement  that  lias  had  a  detrimental  effect  upon  the  religious 
life  of  many  people,  and  that  is  the  premillenarian  doctrine 
that  has  spread  in  some  sections.  This  doctrine  discredits 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  hinders  His  powerful  in- 
fluences in  His  awakening  and  converting  power. 

While  on  this  point,  I  will  state  a  circumstance  that 
occurred  while  I  was  stationed  in  Wilmington.  A  man  came 
there  and  delivered  what  he  called  a  series  of  Bible  read- 
ings. The  first  of  these  Bible  readings  had  nothing  object- 
ionable in  them,  and  a  brother  came  to  me  vv^ith  an  endorse- 
ment of  these  readings  and  asked  me  to  sign  it.  As  I  saw 
nothing  objectionable  in  them  I  signed  the  paper.  After 
that  he  came  out  with  his  premillenarianism,  and  went  so 
far  as  to  say  that  the  Holy  Spirit  had  ceased  to  convict  men 
of  the  guilt  or  of  the  power  of  sin ;  that  he  had  not  seen  any 
one  convicted  of  sin  in  any  way  in  twenty  years.  I  v/ent  to 
the  brother  who  had  the  endorsement  of  these  readings  in 
hand  and  had  my  name  scratched  off.  I  went  to  the  other 
Metliodist  preachers  and  asked  them  not  to  endorse  the 
teachings  to  v/hich  we  had  just  listened,  but  they  hesitated 
to  take  their  names  off,  and  the  endorsement  came  out  the 
next  morning  in  the  morning  papers.  The  Presiding  Elder 
of  the  Wilmington  District  was  one  of  the  preachers  who 
endorsed  the  teaching,  and  he  came  out  in  an  article  in  the 
church  paper  disclaiming  the  purpose  of  endorsing  any  such 
teaching.  I  did  not  intend  to  have  anything  to  say  about  the 
matter,  as  large  crowds  had  attended  the  meetings,  and  I  ex- 
pected it  would  bring  upon  me  a  good  deal  of  criticism.  I 
left  the  meeting  as  soon  as  I  had  quietly  taken  my  name 
from  the  endorsement,  but  learned  the  next  morning  that  the 
brother  who  had  the  endorsement,  stated  publicly  that  I  had 
declined  to  endorse  the  teaching.  When  I  heard  that  I  pub- 
lished in  the  Atlantic  Methodist  my  reasons  for  refusing  to 
■endorse  such  doctrine,  and  found  to  my  surprise  that  the 


AND  Obseevations  95 

people  generally  were  with  me,  notwithstanding  I  was  the 
only  one  of  the  preachers  who  refused  the  endorsement. 

I  have  been  fully  persuaded  for  a  long  time  that  this 
premillenarian  doctrine  has  had  a  detrimental  effect  upon 
many.  For  if  the  idea  that  Christ  must  come  and  reign 
here  on  earth  in  his  human  person  before  the  world  can  be 
filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  is  true,  if  this 
doctrine  means  anything,  it  means  that  Christianity  having 
begun  in  the  spirit,  must  be  perfected  in  the  flesh.  Christ 
will  come  back  to  this  world  in  like  manner  as  He  went 
away;  but  when  He  comes  He  will  come  to  judgment,  and 
that  will  be  the  end  of  this  state  of  things.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  this  is  the  truth.  Eussellism,  with  all  of  its  other 
heresies,  has  its  roots  in  premillenarianism,  and  I  give  it  as 
my  settled  conviction  that  all  of  our  preachers  should  steer 
clear  of  this  heresy.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  come  to  abide  in  the 
church  until  the  end  of  time,  and  we  have  just  as  good  reason 
to  expect  His  presence  in  convicting  and  converting  power 
now  as  our  fathers  had.  I  have  seen  too  much  of  His  work 
in  my  day  to  doubt  a  continuance  of  His  presence  with  us 
to  the  end.  T^Tienever  the  doctrine  that  Christ  must  come 
in  His  human  person  to  reign  on  earth  and  subjugate  His 
enemies  and  put  an  end  to  Satan's  power,  by  a  sudden  stroke 
of  divine  power,  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  discredited 
to  make  the  truth  effective.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that 
the  resources  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  any  more  limited  than 
those  of  the  entire  God-head;  for  He  is  really  and  truly 
God,  and  the  great  danger  is  now  and  ever  has  been  that  we 
may  grieve  Him.  I  speak  of  this  in  this  connection  because 
I  am  so  deeply  impressed  with  its  importance. 

I  cannot  well  help  speaking  of  the  effects  of  the  different 
doctrines  that  have  been  taught  in  my  day,  and  the  effect 
of  these  doctrines  on  the  church  and  the  world.  Our  modern 
system  of  evangelism  is  a  departure  from  that  system  which 


96  Eecollectiois's 

so  wonderfully  impressed  the  world  in  the  early  days  of 
Methodism,  and  which  obtained  when  I  first  entered  the 
minstry. 

Our  fathers  fasted  and  prayed  to  secure  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  in  the  awakening  and  conversion  of  souls.  Now 
we  advertise  our  meetings  and  magnify  the  work  of  certain 
men.  We  make  the  impression,  whether  intentionally  or  not, 
that  the  power  of  God  is  in  the  hands  of  a  few  men,  who 
resort  to  all  kinds  of  sensational  methods  to  attract  the  crowd. 
They  succeed  in  drawing  large  audiences,  and  get  much  ad- 
vertising through  the  papers,  but  after  all,  the  permanency 
of  the  work  is  questionable.  The  impression  is  very  general 
that  the  day  of  old  fashioned  Holy  Spirit  Revival  is  passed. 

In  all  this  work  I  am  impressed  that  the  human  instru- 
mentality is  honored,  and  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
under-valued.  I  speak  of  these  things  because  it  is  a  matter 
of  conscience  with  me,  and  if  our  people  can  be  brought  back 
to  seek,  and  to  trust  in  the  Spirit  of  God  in  his  awakening, 
converting  and  sanctifying  power  in  any  degree,  I  shall  not 
have  labored  in  A'ain. 


AND  Observations  9t 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Washington  Station. 

The  Kortli  Carolina  Conference  met  in  Elizabeth  City 
the  latter  part  of  jSTovember,  1898.  Bishop  O.  P.  Fitzgerald 
presided.  I  had  spent  three  years  at  Fayetteville,  and  I  de- 
sired to  get  an  appointment  higher  up  the  country,  as  my 
wife  was  still  a  great  sufferer,  and  I  had  found  that  a  ma- 
larial climate  did  not  agree  with  her.  I  spoke  to  Bishop 
Fitzgerald  about  it  and  he  decided  to  put  me  on  the  War- 
renton  District.  That  was  just  the  point  to  which  I  wished 
to  go,  as  the  District  parsonage  was  in  Littleton,  and  the 
Panacea  Springs,  which  were  close  by,  had  proved  very 
helpful  to  her.  But  our  congregation  in  Washington,  N.  C, 
had  commenced  to  build  a  new  church,  and  they  were  heavily 
in  debt,  with  the  church  incomplete  and  the  congregation 
somewhat  divided,  and  the  Presiding  Elder  of  that  District 
determined  to  have  me  sent  there.  To  accomplish  his  pur- 
pose he  got  certain  preachers  to  go  to  the  Bishop  and  tell 
him  that  the  preachers  objected  to  me  as  a  Presiding  Elder, 
and  the  Bishop  was  induced  to  put  me  at  Washington  and 
to  assign  the  preacher  at  Washington  to  the  Warrenton  Dis- 
trict. 

It  is  painful  to  me  to  record  these  facts,  but  I  cannot  be 
true  to  history  and  not  state  them.  The  brother  who  was 
used  to  accomplish  this,  afterwards  left  the  church  and  went 
to  the  Baptist  Church.  Another  brother,  who  has  since  gone 
to  his  reward,  told  me  that  he  was  approached  with  the  re- 
quest to  go  with  some  brethren  to  the  Bishop  with  this  state- 
ment. Suffice  it  to  say  the  scheme  worked,  and  I  was  sent 
to  Washington,  where  the  climate  aggravated  my  wife's 
trouble  and  came  near  causing  her  death.    All  parties  to  this 

7 


98  Recollections 

transaction  have  passed  to  their  reward,  and  I  hope  they  are 
in  heaven;  for  while  I  state  these  facts,  I  feel  no  nnkind- 
ness  to  the  men  who  schemed  for  what  seemed  to  be  very- 
much  against  the  interest  of  my  family,  as  well  as  myself. 

I  went  to  Washington,  'N.  C,  in  December,1898.  I  found 
the  congregation  worshipping  in  the  town  hall.  They  had 
commenced  to  build  a  nice  brick  church.  The  building  was 
under  cover  and  no  money  in  hand  to  complete  it,  with  a  six 
thousand  dollar  debt  to  provide  for.  It  took  five  thousand 
dollars  to  complete  the  church,  and  the  conference  had  been 
invited  to  hold  the  session  of  1899  there.  I  was  informed 
by  the  Presiding  Elder  that  there  was  no  trouble  there,  and 
that  the  church  would  be  completed  without  difficulty  as  the 
congregation  was  amply  able  to  build  it.  He  said,  "It  is 
no  Fifth  Street  affair."  I  said  nothing,  for  I  saw  I  was 
in  for  it,  let  the  trouble  be  what  it  would.  I  went  there  and 
went  to  work  with  all  my  might  to  relieve  the  situation,  for 
I  knew  if  there  was  any  failure  it  would  be  charged  to  me, 
as  the  Conference  was  kept  in  entire  ignorance  of  the  situa- 
tion. With  hard  and  constant  work,  we  succeeded  in  finish- 
ing the  church  building  at  an  additional  cost  of  $5,000.00, 
which  we  raised  that  year.  We  bonded  the  debt  of  $6,000.00 
for  ten  years,  and  when  the  Conference  met,  we  were  ready 
for  it  and  had  the  church  dedicated. 

Our  Conference  met  in  Washington,  North  Carolina,  in 
December,  1899.  ISTo  conference  had  been  held  in  that  town 
for  about  fifty-five  years.  There  was  no  one  living  there  that 
remembered  the  session  that  was  held  there,  I  think,  in  1844. 
The  church  at  Washington  was  founded  in  1784,  the  same 
year  that  the  M.  E.  Church  was  organized  at  the  Christmas 
General  Conference  that  met  in  Baltimore.  The  history  of 
this  church  would  be  very  interesting,  if  we  had  the  data 
to  write  it.  Many  faithful  men  and  women  have  been  mem- 
bers here  during  its  existence. 


AND  Observations  99 

During  the  war  between  the  states  the  greater  part  of  the 
town  was  burned  do^vn,  including  the  churches.  When  the 
war  was  over,  the  people  there  went  to  work  and  under  great 
difficulties  built  a  brick  church.  It  was  a  rather  unsightly 
building,  with  a  very  sharp  roof.  They  were  unable  to 
complete  it  and  worshipped  in  the  basement  for  several  years. 
When  I  first  entered  the  ministry  they  were  worshipping  in 
that  basement,  and  I  assisted  Rev.  A.  R.  Raven  in  a  meet- 
ing held  there.  They  finally  finished  the  auditorium,  largely 
through  donations  made  by  old  brother  Lockwood  Hyatt, 
and  a  Captain  Perry,  who  was  there  in  command  of  a  revenue 
cutter. 

When  the  congregation  determined  to  build  a  new  church 
there  was  considerable  opposition  from  some  of  the  older 
members,  and  when  I  was  sent  there  the  feeling  between 
those  who  had  opposed  building  the  new  church  and  the 
majority  who  had  determined  to  build,  was  not  as  cordial  as 
it  should  have  been.  This  condition  was  not  at  all  helpful 
to  us  in  the  work. 

There  was  a  graveyard  connected  with  the  church,  and 
the  larger  space  needed  for  the  new  church  required  the 
removal  of  some  of  the  dead  to  the  city  cemetery.  This 
caused  some  rather  unpleasant  feelings  on  the  part  of  some 
of  the  members.  The  time  was  when  I  favored  having  a 
graveyard  connected  with  the  church,  but  my  experience 
teaches  me  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  have  a  church  and  a  grave- 
yard together,  for  if  it  ever  becomes  necessary  to  move  the 
church,  there  will  be  trouble  about  the  dead  buried  there. 
Some  of  the  members  at  Washington  never  became  recon- 
ciled to  what  was  done  about  their  dead. 

There  was  an  old  colored  man  who  owned  a  lot  adjoining 
the  church  in  Washington.  His  cabin  was  the  next  house 
to  the  church,  and  the  railroad  desired  to  purchase  his  lot 
that  they  might  run  their  tracks  close  by  the  church,  to  get 


100  Recollections 

down  to  their  terminal  point.  I  bought  this  lot  for  the 
church,  as  it  would  have  been  a  great  annoyance  to  have 
the  railroad  track  running  within  forty  feet  of  the  church. 
'Some  of  the  members  were  very  much  opposed  to  investing 
any  money  in  a  lot,  while  we  owed  so  much  on  the  church 
building;  but  I  got  one  of  our  members,  Brother  E.  W. 
Ayers,  to  pay  for  the  lot  and  have  it  deeded  to  himself  until 
I  could  raise  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  We  paid  the  old 
colored  man  $500.00  for  his  lot.  and  had  him  a  house  built 
at  the  back  of  it,  to  be  his  while  he  lived. 

While  our  Conference  was  in  session  I  secured  Dr.  J.  J. 
Lafferty  to  give  us  a  lecture  to  raise  the  money  to  pay  for 
the  lot.  He  came  and  delivered  his  lecture  on  "The  Days  of 
Our  Daddies."  We  secured  the  old  opera  house  in  Wash- 
mgton  for  this  lecture,  and  had  a  fine  audience.  Dr.  Laf- 
ferty was  a  natural  humorist,  and  on  that  occasion  he  sur- 
passed himself.  He  spoke  for  two  hours  and  ten  minutes, 
and  held  his  crowd  to  the  last  moment.  Lafferty  was  simply 
inimitable.  I  do  not  suppose  any  one  v/ho  heard  him  on 
that  occassion  will  ever  forget  that  lecture.  It  was  humorous, 
but  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  best  answers  to  pessimism 
I  ever  heard.  He  donated  that  lecture  to  help  me  pay  for 
that  lot,  and  would  not  accept  but  ten  dollars  for  his  time 
and  trouble. 

We  paid  for  the  lot,  and  I  advised  the  church  never  to  sell 
it,  for  if  they  sold  it,  the  railroad  might  buy  it  and  run  their 
side  tracks  close  to  the  church ;  but  they  have  since  sold  it  to 
a  member  of  the  church.  Our  Methodist  people  have  an 
aversion  to  owming  any  property  except  for  actual  use  for 
the  church. 

Bishop  Hendrix  dedicated  the  church  in  Washington, 
notwithstanding  we  owed  a  bonded  debt  of  six  thousand 
dollars ;  but  before  I  left  Washington  we  paid  five  hundred 


AK^D  Observations  101 

dollars  of  the  debt,  and  it  was  all  paid  in  less  than  five  years. 

I  have  said  our  church  in  Washington  was  burned  by  the 
Federal  army  during  the  war.  After  fifty  years  the  govern- 
ment paid  the  church  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars 
for  the  property  burned  They  had  built  and  paid  for  two 
houses  of  worship  before  the  government  re-imbursed  them. 

I  spent  three  years  on  the  Washington  Station,  and  at  the 
Conference  held  in  Fayetteville  in  1901  I  was  sent  to  Rocky 
Mount  Station. 


102  Recollections 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Rocky  Mount  Station. 

Our  Conference  for  1901  was  held  at  Fayetteville,  ISTorth 
Carolina,  in  December;  Bishop  R.  K.  Hargrove  presided. 
I  was  sent  to  Rocky  Mount  Station.  The  church  there  had 
been  in  a  rather  unsettled  condition  for  some  time.  When  I 
went  there  the  church  buildings  of  all  the  denominations 
were  small  wooden  structures.  The  town  had  just  begun  to 
build  up,  and  the  religious  condition  was  not  very  encourag- 
ing. Soon  after  I  entered  upon  my  pastorate,  I  began  to 
agitate  for  a  new  church.  I  did  not  meet  with  much  en- 
couragement at  first,  but  I  was  satisfied  that  nothing  could 
overcome  certain  difficulties  that  had  existed  there  for  some 
time,  except  some  enterprise  that  would  arouse  church  en- 
thusiasm, and  cause  the  old  troubles  to  be  forgotten.  The 
Presiding  Elder  was  not  in  harmony  with  me,  or  with  the 
people.  He  was  unfortunately  constituted.  He  could  not 
help  being  a  partisan,  and  always  took  sides.  There  were 
factions,  and  he  sided  with  one  of  them.  I  endeavored  to 
occupy  a  neutral  position  and  serve  both  sides  alike,  for 
there  was,  as  is  generally  the  case,  some  wrong  on  both  sides. 

About  the  time  everything  began  to  settle  and  the  minds 
of  the  people  were  turned  to  the  new  enterprise  of  building 
a  church,  there  was  a  difficulty  between  two  men  belonging 
to  the  opposite  factions,  and  while  I  was  trying  to  bring 
about  peace  between  them,  this  Elder  happened  to  get  to 
town  and  took  a  decided  stand  with  one  faction.  This  pre- 
cipitated a  new  trouble,  which  made  the  matter  more  diffi- 
cult. 

The  position  of  a  neutral  between  factions  is  always  very 
difficult.    If  he  will  not  take  sides  both  sides  will  soon  com- 


AND  Observations  103 

bine  against  him,  and  like  Pilate  and  Herod,  thej  will  make 
friends  among  themeslves  and  unite  in  opposing  the  neutral^ 
as  Pilate  and  Herod  did  against  Christ.  The  Presiding 
Elder  threw  all  his  influence  against  the  new  church  enter- 
prise, and  for  a  time  hindered  the  work. 

That  brother  has  gone  to  his  reward,  and  I  hope  he  is  in 
heaven,  for  I  believe  it  was  more  a  mistake  of  judgment 
than  anything  else  that  controlled  his  actions. 

We  finally  succeeded  in  getting  a  plan  accepted,  and  a 
committee  organized  to  build  a  new  brick  church. 

I  spent  two  years  in  an  effort  to  build  up  Methodism  in 
Rocky  Mount.  Soon  after  the  General  Conference  that  met 
in  Dallas,  Texas,  in  1902,  at  which  A.  Coke  Smith,  D,  D., 
was  elected  bishop,  I  invited  him  to  come  to  Rocky  Mount 
and  preach  for  us  and  lecture  to  our  League.  He  did  so, 
and  spent  a  Saturday  and  Sunday  with  us  to  the  delight  /)f 
our  people.  He  was  a  fine  preacher,  and  a  most  genial 
gentleman.  . : 

Our  conference  for  1902  was  held  in  Wilmington,  and 
Bishop  A.  Coke  Smith  presided.  I  was  returned  to  Rocky 
Mount  for  the  year  1903,  and  did  what  I  could  to  build  up 
the  church  under  difficulties. 

During  this  Conference  Rev.  W.  C.  Norman,  one  of  our 
most  popular  pastors,  died  suddenly.  He  was  stationed  at 
Trinity  Church,  Durham,  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His 
people  expected  his  return,  but  death  took  him  away  in  the 
midst  of  his  usefulness,  and  caused  several  changes  in  the 
appointments.  Rev.  R.  C.  Beaman,  who  had  been  stationed 
at  Wasihngton  for  only  one  year,  was  sent  to  Trinity,  Dur- 
ham, and  his  removal  caused  some  dissatisfaction  for  a  little 
time.  I  was  called  to  Washington  to  conduct  the  funeral 
of  a  Brother  Lawrence,  and  having  been  pastor  at  Washing- 
ton the  Official  Board  asked  my  advice  about  consenting 
to  the  change  of  their  preacher.     I  advised  them  to  wire  the 


104  EeC0LLECTI02s"S 

Bishop  to  make  no  change  from  what  he  had  done,  and 
to  let  Brother  Beaman  go,  and  to  write  Brother  L.  E.  Thomp- 
son to  come  on,  and  that  thej  give  him  the  "best  reception 
they  had  ever  given  a  pastor.  Thev  did  this,  and  Brother 
Thompson  served  the  church  acceptably  for  four  years. 

I  record  this  fact  to  call  attention  to  the  mistake  churches 
sometimes  make  in  objecting  to  appointments.  As  a  rule  the 
bishops  do  the  best  they  can,  and  if  the  people  and  the 
preachers  will  accept  the  situation,  and  do  the  best  they  can, 
things  will  generally  right  themselves. 

Our  Methodist  system  is  a  wonderful  evangelizing  sys- 
tem. It  is  a  powerful  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 

While  Rocky  Mount  Station  had  its  difficulties,  there 
were  many  encouraging  features  about  it  as  a  field  of  gTeat 
usefulness ;  and  while  I  was  not  permitted  to  see  my  plans 
for  building  the  new  church,  and  for  building  up  the  mem- 
bership carried  out  under  my  ovm.  supervision,  yet  the  work 
went  on,  and  the  church  and  a  new  parsonage  were  built, 
and  Rocky  Mount  is  now  one  of  our  finest  stations.  I  have 
many  warm  friends  there,  one  of  whom  meets  me  at  Confer- 
ence every  year  and  shows  his  friendship  in  a  substantial 
way,  by  presenting  me  with  a  gold  coin.  I  would  be  glad 
to  give  his  name  a  place  in  these  annals,  but  I  fear  he  would 
not  approve  of  it. 

Rocky  Mount  is  a  growing  railroad  center,  and  has  gro^vn 
from  a  few  hundred  inliabitants  in  the  last  twenty-five 
years  to  12,000  or  15,000  population. 

Many  of  those  who  were  leaders  in  church  and  State 
when  I  was  stationed  there  are  gone,  and  nearly  an  entirely 
new  population  is  there,  and  the  church  is  keeping  pace  with 
the  wonderful  growth  of  the  town.  They  have  recently  add- 
ed  materially   to    the    Sunday    School    department    of   the 


AND  Observations  .105 

church,  and  have  one  of  the  finest  Sunday  School  arrange- 
ments of  any  church  in  the  Conference.  The  leading  busi- 
ness men  of  the  town  belong  to  the  AVesley  Bil)le  Class,  and 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  Railroad  is 
one  of  the  leading  Bible  class  workers  in  the  State. 

I  believe  that  some  of  the  seed  sov/n  there  by  me  has 
helped  to  produce  the  great  harvest  t]iat  is  being  reaped. 
Other  good  men  have  taken  hold  of  the  work,  and  God  is 
blessing  the  seed-sowing  and  the  reaping  in  that  very  fruit- 
ful field. 

Our  Conference  for  1903  met  in  Goldsboro,  'N.  C.  Bishop 
Warren  A.  Candler  presided.  He  gave  my  Ofiicial  Board 
a  rap  for  asking  him  to  send  me  to  the  Washington  District. 
They  did  this  against  my  advice ;  but  they  had  certain  plans 
they  wanted  to  carry  out,  and  told  me  if  the  Bishop  would 
grant  their  request,  they  intended  to  build  a  District  par- 
sonage at  Rocky  Mount  and  give  it  to  the  District.  I  feared 
just  what  happened;  that  the  Bishop  would  think  I  had  a 
hand  in  the  movement,  that  they  would  not  accomplish  their 
object,  and  that  I,  who  was  innocent  of  such  a  plan,  would 
be  misunderstood.  While  I  appreciated  the  kindness  on  the 
part  of  my  brethren  in  desiring  to  have  me  live  among  them 
longer  than  my  term  as  pastor,  and  giving  me,  as  they 
thought,  a  wider  field  of  service ;  3^et  I  understood  the  work- 
ings of  the  itinerancy  better  than  they  did.  They  expected 
me  to  remain  with  them  two  years  longer  anyway,  but  the 
Presiding  Elder,  whose  time  was  out,  was  not  in  sympathy 
with  the  board,  nor  with  me.  They  informed  him  what 
they  desired  and  he  opposed  it  with  all  his  influence.  He 
did  not  desire  to  leave  the  Eldership,  and  he  thought  if  that 
arrangement  was  effected,  it  would  result  in  his  leaving 
District  work.  The  Bishop  did  not  grant  the  desire  of  either 
party.  I  was  moved  from  the  station,  and  the  Presiding 
Elder  was  sent  to  a  station. 


106  Recollections 

It  is  hard  to  state  facts  like  these  in  such  a  way  as  not 
to  cause  any  prejudice;  but  that  brother  has  gone  to  his- 
reward,  and  the  brother  who  followed  me  at  Rocky  Mount 
has  also  gone  to  his  eternal  home.  I  was  the  innocent  victim 
of  misunderstanding ;  but  I  went  back  to  Rocky  Mount  after- 
Conference  and  plead  with  the  brethren,  who  were  very 
much  disappointed,  to  go  forward,  build  their  church,  and: 
work  for  the  Master,  which  they  did,  with  the  results  stated. 

Bishop  Candler  is  a  very  strong  man,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
would  have  acted  differently  if  he  had  fully  understood  the' 
situation. 

At  that  Conference  at  Goldsboro  some  of  the  brethren  who 
had  gone  off  with  the  Crumpler  movement  came  back  into  the- 
Conference.  One  brother  who  came  back  had  served  a 
charge  on  the  Washington  District  as  a  supply,  and  had 
done  faithful  work.  We  recommended  him  for  re-admission,, 
and  while  some  opposed  him,  I  spoke  in  his  defense.  The 
Bishop  was  not  favorable  to  his  re-admission,  and  showed 
it  by  his  objecting  to  some  things  I  said;  but  he  was  re- 
admitted, and  has  done  faithful  work  ever  since. 

My  only  object  in  stating  the  facts  in  this  chapter  is  to- 
set  certain  matters  in  their  true  light,  and  leave  a  true 
account  of  my  work  to  any  friends  who  may  care  to  read 
them,  either  while  I  live  or  after  I  am  gone. 


AND  Observations  107 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Henderson  Station. 

At  the  Conference  held  at  Goldsboro  in  1903,  I  was  sent 
to  Henderson  Station.  I  followed  Eev.  J.  D.  Bundj,  who 
was  sent  to  the  Washington  District.  I  found  a  class  of 
good  clever  people  in  Henderson ;  but  the  Church  was  not  in 
a  very  spiritual  condition.  The  charge  did  not  pay  as  much 
salary  as  I  had  received  for  several  years,  but  I  did  not  com- 
plain of  that,  and  took  hold  of  the  work  resolved  to  do  the 
best  I  could,  and  to  save  as  many  souls  as  possible. 

I  had  two  cotton  mill  churches  connected  with  the  charge, 
and  had  a  junior  preacher  to  work  in  that  field.  Soon  after 
I  got  there  Rev.  R.  D.  Daniel,  my  junior  preacher,  came. 
We  had  a  small  church  at  South  Henderson  cotton  mill  that 
was  burned  soon  after  I  got  there.  We  had  a  society  in 
]N^orth  Henderson,  and  they  worshipped  in  the  school  house. 
We  held  revivals  at  both  of  the  mill  villages,  and  had  a 
number  of  conversions  and  accessions  to  the  church.  We 
built  a  church  at  both  places,  and  had  developed  the  work 
to  such  an  extent  that  at  the  end  of  three  years  it  was  made 
into  a  separate  charge,  against  my  judgment,  however,  as 
we  owed  nine  hundred  dollars  on  the  North  Henderson 
Church.  I  advised  the  Presiding  Elder  to  continue  the 
mission  in  connection  with  the  station  until  the  North  Hen- 
derson church  was  out  of  debt,  but  this  was  not  done,  and 
the  mill  congregation  felt  that  they  were  unable  to  pay  the 
debt  and  came  near  giving  up.  Rev.  J.  E.  Underwood  was 
sent  on  the  District  and  took  an  interest  in  the  church,  and 
with  the  aid  of  J.  H.  Bridgers,  Esq.,  R.  J.  Corbett,  and  a 
few  others,  the  debt  of  $900.00  on  the  church  was  settled,  and 
at  the  solicitation  of  Brother  Underwood  and  Brother  G. 


108  Recollections 

D.  Langston,  the  pastor,  I  went  to  Henderson  and  preached 
the  dedicatory  sermon. 

This  church  was  burned  not  a  great  while  after  its  dedi- 
cation, but  there  was  enough  insurance  on  it  to  build 
another,  not  so  large  as  the  one  burned,  but  a  good  cotton 
mill  church. 

Henderson  is  a  growing  town,  and  has  a  fine  class  of  peo- 
ple.    There  is  no  better  society  anywhere  in  the  State. 

The  session  of  the  IsTorth  Carolina  Conference  for  1904 
was  held  in  Henderson  the  latter  part  of  November.  Bishop 
Candler  again  presided.  The  people  of  the  to^vn  gave  the 
Conference  fine  entertainment.  I  was  pastor,  and  they  gave 
me  every  facility  for  providing  for  the  Conference.  I  have 
never  seen  the  body  better  cared  for  at  any  session  since  I 
have  been  connected  with  it. 

While  at  Henderson  we  had  several  good  meetings,  and 
quite  a  number  were  converted  and  taken  into  the  church. 
There  were  several  very  remarkable  conversions,  among 
them  the  mayor  of  the  town.  He  is  still  living,  and  one  of 
my  most  cherisK'ed  friends,  of  whom  I  would  be  glad  to 
speak  by  name,  but  I  know  he  would  not  like  for  me  to  do 
fhis,  and  for  that  reason  I  refrain. 

My  assistant,  Brother  R.  D.  Daniel,  had  a  severe  case  of 
typhoid  fever  the  first  year  he  was  with  me  there,  and  for 
weeks  he  was  at  the  point  of  death,  but  his  life  was  spared. 
He  married  and  continued  in  the  itinerant  work  for  a  few 
years  and  located. 

The  Conference  met  in  Wilson  in  1905,  the  latter  part 
of  November,  Bishop  Wilson  presiding.  I  was  returned 
to  Henderson  for  the  following  year,  1906.  My  wife  was 
a  great  sufferer,  and  was  sick  the  greater  part  of  the  time 
I  was  stationed  in  Henderson.  We  were  alone,  as  my  chil- 
dren were  away  from  home  and  the  care  of  a  sick  wife,  and 
a  heavy  pastoral  charge  did  not  give  me  any  time  for  rest, 


AND  Observations  109 

and  yet  I  held  meetings  on  my  o^^^l  charge,  and  helped  the 
brethren  in  several  revivals.  I  dedicated  a  church  at  Ahoskie 
in  Bertie  County,  and  held  a  revival  on  that  charge. 

Our  Conference  met  in  Rocky  Mount  in  December,  1906. 
At  this  Conference  I  was  elected  Missionary  Evangelist, 
without  my  knowledge  or  consent.  My  wife  went  with  me 
to  the  Conference,  and  was  taken  violently  ill  there.  I  did 
not  know  whether  she  would  recover,  and  I  was  greatly  dis- 
tressed. I  knew  that  my  work  would  take  me  away  from 
home  nearly  all  the  time,  and  I  did  not  see  how  I  could  do 
the  work  of  an  evangelist  under  the  circumstances,  but  I 
left  it  all  with  God,  and  let  things  take  their  course.  Soon 
after  Conference  I  moved  to  Greensboro  where  my  son  was 
in  business,  so  as  to  leave  my  wife  with  my  son  and 
daughter-in-law,  while  I  was  away  at  my  work.  My  wife 
had  been  a  great  sufferer  from  gall  stones  for  several  years, 
and  I  had  dreaded  an  operation ;  but  her  condition  was  such 
that  nothing  but  an  operation  could  save  her ;  and  she  went 
to  the  hospital  and  was  operated  on,  and  came  near  dying. 
But  God  spared  her  life,  and  after  another  year's  suffering 
she  recovered  her  health.  I  speak  of  these  things  that  all 
may  knov/  under  what  difficulties  I  labored  at  this  time  of 
my  ministerial  life.  Many  others  have  had  to  contend  with 
like  troubles,  but  that  did  not  relieve  the  poignancy  of  my 
sorrows  and  trials.  But  the  Lord  sustained  me  by  His  grace, 
and  I  went  forward  to  do  the  best  I  could  under  all  circum- 
stances. The  old  Book  says,  ''Man  is  born  to  trouble,  as 
the  sparks  fly  upward,"  and  I  can  truly  say  I  have  experi- 
enced this  common  lot  of  our  humanity;  but  ahvaj's  with 
the  comfortable  assurance  that:  "All  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God." 

The  year  1907  was  a  year  of  labor  and  toil.  I  had  been 
on  station  work  for  nineteen  years,  and  lived  at  home  and 
enjoyed  its  comforts ;  but  through  this  year  I  went  to  the 


110  ReCOLIiECTIONS 

hardest  fields  and  suffered  many  discomforts.  However, 
the  Lord  blessed  my  labors,  and  I  found  His  over-ruling 
providence  equalized  things,  so  that  what  I  lost  in  the  com- 
forts of  home,  and  the  affections  of  the  people  in  my  pas- 
torates, was  made  up  to  me  in  larger  spiritual  blessing. 

During  the  year  1907  I  v/orked  under  the  direction  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  of  the  ISTorth  Carolina  Conference.  The 
Board  paid  me  a  salary  of  $1,600.00  out  of  which  I  paid  my 
traveling  expenses  and  supported  my  family.  I  commenced 
early  in  January  and  kept  constantly  at  work  through  the 
year,  I  dedicated  two  churches,  and  got  another  built  that 
year,  besides  founding  one  at  Clarendon  in  Columbus 
County. 

I  v/ill  not  go  into  detail  of  the  work  of  the  year.  I  counted 
something  over  five  hundred  conversions,  but  I  do  not  exactly 
know  how  many  were  added  to  the  church.  I  held  meetings 
from  one  end  of  the  conference  to  the  other;  and  most  of 
the  places  to  which  I  was  sent  were  mission  fields ;  some  of 
them  were  places  in  which  nothing  much  could  be  done.  I 
held  a  meeting  down  on  the  Straits,  in  a  community  where 
every  woman  and  girl,  and  all  the  men  but  eleven,  were 
members  of  the  church.  These  were  converted  and  joined 
the  church. 

There  is  one  fact  with  regard  to  the  Straits  church,  the 
name  of  which  is  Springfield,  I  will  mention  because  I  have 
never  found  anything  like  it  anywhere.  The  Sunday  School 
raised  all  the  finances,  and  everybody  in  the  community  is 
in  the  Sunday  School.  Rev.  M.  W.  Dargan  was  the  pastor, 
and  he  told  me  it  was  sometime  after  he  got  to  the  charge 
before  he  found  out  how  they  did.  He  said  to  the  leading 
man  there,  a  Brother  Willis,  that  he  wanted  his  Missionary 
collection  before  the  District  Conference,  which  was  held 
at  one  of  his  churches  that  year.  Brother  Willis  said  to 
him:  "You  can  get  your  missionary  money  whenever  you 


AND  Observations  111 

want  it."  Brother  Dargan  said  nothing  more  about  it  then, 
but  just  before  his  District  Conference  was  to  meet,  he  said 
to  Brother  Willis :  ''Well,  it  is  time  to  take  the  collection 
for  missions."  Brother  Willis  asked  how  much  was  the 
assessment,  and  when  he  was  told,  he  went  to  his  safe  and 
counted  out  the  amount.  Brother  Dargan  said  to  him: 
"Do  jou  pay  all  the  collections  yourself?"  He  answered: 
"JSTo,  we  raise  all  our  finances  in  the  Sunday  School,  and 
always  have  the  money  in  hand  to  pay  all  demands  on  the 
church." 

I  was  told  that  when  the  treasury  began  to  run  low,  they 
would  make  a  special  effort,  and  get  a  large  collection  to 
replenish  it.  It  struck  me  as  a  remarkable  financial  plan. 
They  never  took  any  collection  in  the  church  at  any  preach- 
ing service  for  anything;  but  were  careful  to  see  that  every- 
body contributed  through  the  Sunday  School.  They  came 
as  near  getting  a  contribution  from  every  member  of  the 
congTegation  as  any  people  I  have  ever  known.  I  asked  myself 
the  question,  if  that  was  not  about  as  good  a  financial  plan 
as  any  I  had  ever  known?  I  do  not  know  that  the  plan  is 
still  operated.  They  have  built  a  nice  new  church  there. 
I  was  told  they  raised  their  finances  in  that  way  for  that 
purpose  also.  I  state  this  fact,  that  it  may  be  tried  by  any 
church  that  may  desire  to  test  its  efficacy. 

Our  Conference  met  in  N^ew  Bern  in  December,  1907. 
I  expected  to  continue  in  the  same  work,  as  the  year  had 
been  fruitful  of  results.  But  the  Board  of  Missions  dis- 
continued my  work. 

I  was  appointed  to  St.  John  and  Gibson  charge  for  1908. 
My  wife  was  still  unable  to  go  with  me  to  my  work,  and  we 
continued  to  make  our  home  in  Greensboro.  I  went  prompt- 
ly to  my  work,  and  boarded  at  the  hotel  in  Gibson.  I  rented 
the  parsonage  out,  and  used  every  available  means  to  get 
along  with  my  work  under  difficulties.     The  people  were 


112  Recollections 

kind  and  sympathized  with  me.  In  the  summer,  when  my 
wife  had  sufficiently  recovered,  she  went  down  and  spent 
some  time  with  me.  I  would  go  home  to  Greensboro  every 
three  weeks.  That  v/as  quite  an  additional  expense  and 
worry,  but  it  was  the  best  I  could  do  under  the  circumstancesL 
Our  Conference  met  in  Durham  in  December,  1908,  Bis- 
hop A.  W.  Wilson,  presiding.  I  was  returned  to  St.  John 
and  Gibson.  Soon  after  conference,  my  wife  having  suffi- 
ciently recovered,  we  moved  to  Gibson.  We  made  arrange- 
ments to  have  the  parsonage,  (which  had  stood  for  twenty- 
five  years  withoiit  any  improvement),  renovated  and  im- 
proved generally.  We  had  improved  the  condition  of  the 
church  the  year  before.  But  while  the  parsonage  was  being 
renovated,  I  was  taken  sick.  During  the  year  1907,  I  held 
meetings  during  the  summer  in  the  malarial  section,  and 
became  poisoned  by  malaria.  My  sickness  took  the  form 
of  nervous  indigestion,  and  it  affected  my  heart  to  such  an 
extent  that  my  physicians  thought  I  had  an  incurable  form 
of  heart  trouble.  I  struggled  on  until  the  middle  of  May, 
and  made  every  effort  to  get  well.  I  went  to  the  hospital 
and  spent  three  weeks,  and  to  Jackson  Springs  for  a  couple 
of  weeks,  and  then  returned  to  my  work,  hoping  still  that  I 
might  be  able  to  go  on  with  my  work.  Not  long  after  going 
back  to  Gibson  I  had  a  sinking  spell  one  day,  and  I  thought 
I  was  dying.  Dr.  W.  T.  Pate,  my  physician,  thought  that 
I  v/ould  die  if  I  did  not  give  up  work  entirely,  and  believing 
that  my  work  was  done,  I  phoned  my  Presiding  Elder,  Rev. 
W.  H.  Moore,  D.  D.,  who  lived  in  Rockingham,  to  come  to 
Gibson,  and  informed  him  that  I  must  give  up  my  work. 
Pie.  came,  and  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Official  Board 
of  the  charge,  it  was  arranged  that  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Peele, 
who  had  been  President  of  Rutherford  College,  but  had 
determined  to  enter  the  pastorate,  should  take  the  charge 
for  the  remainder  of  the  vear.     I  went  back  to  Greensboro 


AND  Observations  113 

expecting  to  die.  For  about  three  months  I  continned  in  a 
precarious  state  of  health,  but  gradually  recovered;  and, 
when  Conference  met  at  Raleigh  that  year,  my  physicians 
gave  me  a  certificate  stating  that  I  was  over  my  trouble. 

Our  Conference  met  in  Raleigh  the  latter  part  of  Novem- 
ber, 1909.  Bishop  A.  W.  Wilson  presided.  My  Presiding 
Elder  said  to  me:  "Your  friends  do  not  think  you  are  as 
well  as  you  think  you  are."  And  when  the  appointments 
were  read,  I  was  assigned  to  Pelham  and  Shady  Grove,  a 
small  charge  on  the  railroad  between  Greensboro  and  Dan- 
ville. Rev.  S.  F.  Nicks  was  on  that  charge  and  had  made 
all  his  arrangements  to  go  back,  and  was  greatly  disappointed 
at  the  change,  as  were  his  people.  They  thought  that  I  ex- 
pected to  reside  in  Greensboro,  and  go  out  and  preach  for 
them.  I  thought,  upon  the  supposition  that  I  was  a  sick 
man,  the  appointment  was  very  unsuitable;  and  in  view  of 
this,  I  wired  the  Bishop  to  allow  Brother  Nicks  to  remain 
at  Pelham  and  Shady  Grove,  and  leave  me  without  any 
appointment  for  the  year,  which  he  kindly  did.  Being  free 
from  pastoral  v/ork,  I  went  back  in  the  evangelistic  work, 
and  held  a  number  of  fine  meetings  that  year. 

It  was  sometime  before  I  recovered  my  strength  fully, 
but  my  improvement  was  steady,  and  my  recovery  was 
complete. 

I  had  published  a  book  on  Spiritual  Life,  and  as  I  owned 
the  plates,  I  had  an  edition  of  the  work  published  and  sold 
it  out  rapidly.  I  wrote  another  book:  "Early  Morning 
Scenes  in  the  Bible,"  which  was  published  by  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Company  in  New  York,  and  I  sold  a  thousand  copies 
of  that  in  a  short  time,  so  with  what  I  received  from  meet- 
ings I  was  comfortable  financially. 

I  came  strong  and  well  from  the  gates  of  death,  fully  de- 
termined to  do  all  I  could  to  advance  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

8 


114  Recollections 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
A  FuKTHEE  Account  of  My  Evangelistic  Work. 

Our  Conference  met  in  Elizabeth  City  in  the  latter  part 
of  November,  1910,  Bishop  E.  R.  Hendrix  presiding.  I 
was  re-elected  Conference  Evangelist,  without  salary,  and 
left  to  make  my  way  as  best  I  could.  I  held  seventeen  re- 
vival meetings  during  the  year,  and  received  for  my  services 
sufficient  money  to  meet  all  my  demands.  I  commenced  my 
meetings  at  South  Mills,  Camden  County,  on  the  11th  of 
January,  and  wound  up  the  year's  work  in  a  meeting  at 
Rockingham,  Richmond  County,  ISTovember  the  12th.  This 
was  a  year  of  hard  work,  but  I  was  happy  in  the  conscious- 
aiess  of  the  Divine  presence,  and  in  seeing  souls  converted, 
and  the  church  revived. 

Our  Conference  met  in  Kinston  the  last  week  in  Novem- 
ber, 1911,  Bishop  E.  E.  Hoss  presiding.  I  was  again  Con- 
ference Evangelist.  I  held  only  ten  revivals  this  year,  but 
some  of  them  were  fine  revivals. 

I  went  to  New  York  this  year,  and  spent  a  few  days  with 
my  nephew,  F.  W.  Nash ;  I  also  went  to  New  York  in  1910, 
and  arranged  to  have  my  book,  "Early  Morning  Scenes  in 
the  Bible"  published;  and  on  this  last  trip,  I  went  to  see 
about  enlarging  the  sale  of  it,  and  to  consider  some  other 
publications. 

In  1912  our  Conference  met  in  Eayetteville,  Bishop 
Collins  Denny  presiding.  I  was  continued  in  the  evange- 
listic work.  I  held  meetings  at  seventeen  places  during  the 
year  1913,  and  we  had  good  success  at  nearly  all  of  them. 

In  1913  our  Conference  met  at  Oxford,  Bishop  J.  H. 
McCoy  presiding.  I  was  continued  in  the  evangelistic  work 
and  held  twelve  revival  meetings  during  the  year,  covering 


AND  Observations  115 

a  large  territory,  and  seeing  many  souls  converted,  and  the 
church  greatly  revived.  I  went  back  to  some  places  where 
I  had  been,  and  had  greater  success  than  when  I  first  went. 
I  have  now  been  in  the  work  until  it  has  become  a  fixture, 
and  the  brethren  whom  I  help,  invariably  desire  my  services 
again ;  and  this  keeps  me  employed  through  the  spring,  sum- 
mer and  fall.  The  one  unpleasant  feature  about  the  work 
is,  it  keeps  me  away  from  home  a  great  part  of  my  time, 
but  I  am  not  annoyed  with  anything  and  have  nothing  to  do 
but  study  and  preach  the  Word. 

Our  Conference  for  1914  met  in  Washington,  ]^.  C,  the 
last  week  in  IsTovember,  Bishop  R.  G.  Waterhouse  presiding. 
There  was  nothing  of  importance  done  at  this  Conference; 
in  fact,  it  was  about  the  least  eventful  of  any  I  remember 
to  have  attended.  I  was  continued  in  the  evangelistic  work, 
and  during  the  year  1915,  I  held  ten  excellent  revivals,  and 
was  better  compensated  for  my  services  that  at  meetings  I 
had  held  in  any  year  since  I  have  been  in  this  work. 

I  have  never  made  the  matter  of  compensation  of  first 
consideration,  I  have  left  this  to  the  free-will  offerings  of 
the  people;  and  have  had  no  plan  for  securing  large  contri- 
butions. Having  seen  in  many  instances,  what  appeared  to 
be  an  effort  to  make  merchandise  out  of  the  gospel,  I  have 
studioulsy  avoided  any  such  procedure.  While  the  servant 
is  worthy  of  his  hire,  I  do  not  believe  in  the  efforts  so  often 
made  to  work  up  large  collections  for  the  evangelist.  While 
on  the  subject,  I  will  say,  I  do  not  believe  the  Holy  Spirit 
will  bless  any  man  who  goes  into  the  ministry  from  mer- 
cenary motives.  But  as  the  Psalmist  says :  "And  men  will 
praise  thee  when  thou  doest  well  to  thyself."  (Psalm  49-18). 
Sometimes  large  collections  are  taken  as  an  evidence  of 
great  ability  on  the  part  of  the  evangelist,  and  these  men 
are  praised  because  they  have  done  well  to  themselves. 


116  Recollections 

But  the  gospel  demands  sacrifice  of  all  who  would  share 
its  benefits  and  saving  power;  and  the  evangelist  is  not  an 
exception  to  this  rule.  To  know  how  to  keep  in  the  middle 
way,  and  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist  as  the  Master  would 
have  it  done  is  a  subject  worthy  of  prayerful  consideration. 
It  has  ever  been  my  object  to  do  solid  work,  and  leave  the 
church  premanently  benefited  when  I  leave  it.  If  the  re- 
vival influence  goes  away  with  the  evangelist,  he  had  better 
never  to  have  come. 

Our  Conference  met  in  Wilmington  in  December,  1915, 
Bishop  John  C.  Kilgo  presiding.  I  asked  to  be  continued  in 
this  work,  and  I  am  now  looking  forward  to  a  good  year. 
I  am  writing  these  recollections  in  January,  1916,  and  if 
I  live  longer  I  may  add  something  more  to  these  reminis- 
cences in  the  future,  but  will  rest  on  my  recollections  now^ 
and  state  some  thing  in  a  general  way,  as  to  the  progress  of 
the  church  during  my  connection  with  this  Conference. 


AND  ObSEKVATIONS  117 


CHAPTEK  XV. 

The  Pkogkess  of  Methodism  in  ISToeth  Carolina  Con- 
ference IN  Forty-three  Years. 

"WTieii  I  entered  the  ministry  in  1872,  the  ISTorth  Carolina 
Conference  covered  the  whole  State,  with  the  exception  of 
fifteen  counties  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  that  were 
in  the  Holston  Conference,  and  ten  counties  in  the  Xorth 
eastern  section  of  the  State  that  were  in  the  Virginia  Con- 
ference. 

The  number  of  white  members,  including  local  preachers 
in  the  Conference  in  1872,  was  48,452.  At  the  Conference 
in  1873  there  were  49,137.  At  the  Conference  in  1874 
there  were  49,926.  In  1875  the  number  had  gone  up  to 
53,971.  In  1876,  the  year  of  the  celebration  of  the  first 
Conference  held  in  IN^orth  Carolina,  there  were  56,052 ;  a 
net  gain  of  2,081.  At  the  Conference  of  1877,  there  were 
58,624,  a  net  gain  of  2,592.  At  the  Conference  of  1878 
there  were  61,854,  a  net  gain  of  3,180.  This  was  a  pros- 
perous year  for  the  Conference. 

At  the  Conference  of  1879  there  were  65,303,  a  net  gain 
of  3,449.  At  the  Conference  of  1880  there  were  67,205,  a 
net  gain  of  2,002.  At  the  Conference  of  1881  there  were 
68,156,  a  gain  of  only  951  members. 

That  was  the  year  of  the  election  for  State  wide  prohi- 
bition. I  do  not  know  whether  that  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  small  increase  in  members,  but  it  is  possible  that 
the  efforts  to  close  the  saloons  might  have  caused  less  earnest 
revival  work. 

In  1882  there  were  in  the  !Rorth  Carolina  Conference 
70,375  white  members,  an  increase  of  2,030,  In  1884  there 
were  75,121,  an  increase  of  3,713.     This  was  a  year  of  in- 


118  Eecollections 

gathering.  In  1885  there  were  77,721  white  members, 
showing  an  increase  of  2,600.  In  1886  there  were  83,102, 
an  increase  in  net  gain  of  5,381.  This  was  a  year  of  pro- 
gress. In  1887  there  were  86,510,  showing  a  net  gain  of 
3,408.  In  1888  there  were  89,084,  showing  a  net  gain  of 
2,574.    In  1889  there  were  92,242,  a  net  gain  of  3,408. 

At  this  session  the  Conference  was  divided,  and  the  Wes- 
tern ISTorth  Carolina  Conference  was  set  off  so  that  in  1890 
we  find  the  North  Carolina  Conference  reporting  only  52,- 
895,  and  I  have  no  data  from  which  to  show  the  increase  of 
membership  for  that  year.  In  1891  we  had  55,734  mem- 
bers, showing  a  net  gain  of  2,839.  In  1892  we  had  57,543, 
showing  a  net  gain  of  1,807.  Inl893  we  had  57,908,  show- 
ing a  net  gain  of  only  365.  There  was  some  controversy 
over  the  statistics  that  year,  and  it  was  thought  that  there 
was  an  error  somewhere,  as  the  church  seemed  to  have 
enjoyed  a  good  year.  In  1894  there  were  63,095  members 
reported,  a  net  increase  of  5,087.  This  increase  over  1893 
gave  evidence  of  some  mistake ;  but  the  figures  stand  as  they 
are  given  and  we  have  no  way  of  correcting  them.  In  1895 
there  was  reported  only  63,298,  an  increase  of  only  208 
members.  In  1896  there  was  reported  a  white  membership 
of  64,879,  an  increase  of  1,581  members.  In  1897  there 
were  65,325,  a  net  gain  of  446.  In  1898  there  were  65,728, 
a  gain  of  only  403,  In  1899  there  were  only  65,384  mem- 
bers reported,  showing  a  net  loss  of  344  members.  In  1900 
there  were'  65,226,  a  net  loss  of  158  members.  In  1901 
there  were  66,059  showing,  a  net  gain  of  833.  In  1902 
there  were  in  the  Conference  66,776  white  members,  show- 
ing a  net  gain  of  707  mmbers.  In  1903  there  was  reported 
in  the  Conference  67,541,  a  net  gain  of  875.  In  1904  there 
were  68,810  members,  a  net  gain  of  1,229  members.     In 

1905  there  were  71,288  members,  a  net  gain  of  2,478.     In 

1906  there  were  73,108  members,  a  net  gain  of  1,820  mem- 


AND  Observations  119 

bers.  In  1907  there  were  73,881  reported  to  the  Confer- 
ence, a  net  gain  of  only  771  members.  In  1908  there  were 
74,548,  a  gain  of  667  members.  In  1909  there  were  76,523, 
a  net  gain  of  975  members.  In  1910  there  were  78,187,  a 
gain  of  2,664.  This  was  the  greatest  increase  in  several 
years.  In  1911  there  were  80,119  reported,  showing  an  in- 
crease of  1,932  members.  In  1912  there  were  82,213  re- 
ported, showing  an  increase  of  2,094.  In  1913  there  were 
84,245  members  reported  to  the  Conference,  an  increase  of 
2,032  members.  In  1914  there  were  85,224  reported,  show- 
ing a  net  gain  of  979.  In  1915  there  were  89,704,  show- 
ing a  gain  of  4,480. 

Thns  we  see  the  progress  of  the  Church  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina Conference  for  forty-three  years.  The  largest  increase 
of  members  was  given  in  1894  at  5,087.  I  think  this  large 
increase  in  membership  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  transfer 
of  territory  from  the  Virginia  Conference.  In  1873  we  had 
in  the  whole  of  North  Carolina  Conference  48,452  white 
members,  including  local  preachers.  In  1899,  the  year 
the  Conference  divided,  there  were  89,084  members,  show- 
ing a  net  gain  in  seventeen  years  of  41,632  members.  When 
the  Conference  was  divided  the  membership  of  the  two  Con- 
ferences was  nearly  the  same.  The  North  Carolina  Con- 
ference had  52,875.  We  have  gained  in  number  in  twenty- 
five  years  34,829  members. 

The  Western  North  Carolina  Conference  has  gained  in 
members  more  rapidly  than  the  North  Carolina  Conference 
has.  They  reported  106,303  members  in  1915;  so  we  have 
now  in  the  two  Conferences  196,007  members.  The  growth 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  statistics  has  been  gradual,  but 
steady;  and  shows  an  increase  every  year  since  1872,  except 
two  years. 

Our  system  of  keeping  statistics  is  the  most  perfect  of 


120  Recollections 

any  Church.     The  supervisor  of  the  census  says  it  is  the 
most  reliable. 

While  we  have  much  to  be  thankful  for,  there  is  large  room 
for  improvement;  and  we  ought  to  make  more  rapid  prog- 
ress. The  increase  of  population  in  ISTorth  Carolina  is  more 
rapid  than  the  increase  in  membership  in  the  Methodist 
Church ;  and  this  ought  not  to  be.  The  other  churches  in  the 
State  have  grown  in  numbers,  some  of  them  are  making  very 
rapid  strides ;  but  Methodism,  with  the  best  system  of  propo- 
ganda,  ought  to  outstrip  all  others.  We  need  more  love 
for  the  Church,  and  more  consecration  on  the  part  of  minis- 
ters and  members. 


AisTD  Observations  121 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Some  Thoughts  ox  Evangelism. 

The  great  work  of  the  Church  is  the  salvation  of  the  world. 
This  is  what  real  evangelism  means ;  and  I  have  drawn  some 
thoughts  from  my  experience  and  observation  on  this  sub- 
ject, which  I  will  submit  for  what  thej  are  worth  with  the 
hope  that  they  may  do  some  good  even  when  my  work  on 
earth  is  done. 

I  will  first  speak  of  what  I  have  seen  of  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  revivals  that  I  have  witnessed.  I  have  men- 
tioned several  extensive  meetings  already,  but  there  are  others 
that  I  have  not  spoken  of,  that  have  in  them  lessons  of  instruc- 
tion and  encouragement.  The  means  used,  and  the  results 
in  these  meetings  are  well  worthy  of  consideration.  Some  of 
these  meetings  that  I  have  known,  to  which  I  shall  refer, 
were  not  held  by  me ;  but  I  had  the  opportunity  of  knowing 
the  men  and  means  employed  in  them. 

In  1884,  while  I  was  on  the  Leasburg  Circuit,  there  was 
a  revival  of  great  power  in  the  city  of  Danville,  Virginia. 
Rev.  A.  G.  Brown  was  pastor,  and  he  was  assisted  in  the 
meeting  by  a  young  preacher  by  the  name  of  Howell.  These 
faithful  men  worked  and  prayed  for  three  weeks  before  there 
was  any  move  among  the  people ;  but  as  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost suddenly  there  was  a  mighty  awakening  among  the 
people.  Men  and  women  flocked  to  the  altar  of  prayer  crying 
for  mercy.  The  work  was  not  confined  to  the  church,  but 
men  were  converted  in  the  warehouses,  where  tobacco  was 
being  sold.  The  whole  city  was  stirred  as  it  never  was 
before,  and  hundreds  were  converted  and  joined  the  church. 
The  meeting  was  held  in  Main  Street  Methodist  Church  in 
Danville.     Two  vears  after  this  meeting  I  assisted  Rev.  W. 


l22  Recollections 

G.  Starr,  D.  D.,  in  a  meeting  there,  and  I  was  told  much 
about  the  great  revival. 

They  have  had  many  meetings  in  Danville  since,  but  I 
have  not  heard  of  any  such  results.  Rev.  Sam  Jones  held 
meetings  there  that  were  very  largely  attended,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  did  good ;  but  there  was  quite  a  difference  in  abid- 
ing results  between  his  meetings  and  the  revival  to  which 
I  have  alluded. 

In  1890,  while  I  was  stationed  in  Raleigh,  I  went  to  War- 
renton,  ]S[.  C,  to  help  Rev.  J.  IST.  Cole  in  a  meeting.  He  and 
his  presiding  elder  and  his  church  had  been  working  and 
praying  for  a  revival  for  about  three  weeks,  and  when  I 
went  everything  was  ready  for  a  great  revival,  and  there 
was  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God  that  revolutionized 
the  town.  The  merchants  closed  their  stores,  and  the  whole 
town  attended  the  meeting.  Brother  Cole  told  me  that  he 
could  pick  out  of  the  converts  in  that  meeting  one  of  the 
finest  offcial  boards  he  had  ever  seen. 

That  revival  built  the  new  brick  church  in  Warrenton  and 
made  the  town,  which  always  had  a  high-class  of  citizens  in 
it,  one  of  the  most  religious  towns  in  the  State.  Rev.  R. 
O.  Burton,  D.  D.,  was  with  us  in  the  meeting,  and  I  heard 
him  say  in  a  sermon  preached  one  Sunday  afternoon:  "I 
have  been  preaching  in  Warrenton  ever  since  I  was  a  boy, 
and  I  have  never  seen  Warrenton  stirred  as  it  is  now.  This 
is  the  day  of  your  visitation."  The  old  doctor  prayed  with 
a  power  I  have  never  heard  equaled. 

I  state  these  cases  to  show  the  difference  between  a  re- 
vival of  religion  and  a  religious  revival.  There  was  no  news- 
paper advertising,  or  great  organizing  in  these  meetings ;  but 
there  was  much  earnest  praying,  both  by  the  preachers  and 
the  people.  I  do  not  condemn  advertising  or  organization, 
but  I  fear  it  is  too  often  the  case  that  these  means  are  relied 


AND  Observations  123 

on  to  such  an  extent  that  complete  reliance  on  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  neglected. 

Great  revivals  of  religion  are  of  the  type  of  Pentecost. 
They  result  from  the  out-pouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and 
I  am  fully  persuaded  that  the  means  that  were  used  at  the 
beginning  of  this  dispensation  will  result  in  the  awakening 
and  conversion  of  men  now  as  it  did  then. 

I  am  not  pessimistic;  but  I  fear  that  we  are  too  often 
content  with  a  great  blare  of  trumpets  and  large  prepera- 
tion  and  much  advertising  of  notable  men,  and  do  not  hum- 
bly seek  and  depend  upon  the  mighty  energy  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  as  we  should.  Genuine  religion  underlies  all  perma- 
nent human  progress.  The  State  depends  for  its  continued 
existence  upon  the  indwelling  power  of  God  in  the  people. 
The  history  of  the  human  race  teaches  this  lesson,  and 
if  we  ever  reach  the  time  when  religion  only  serves  to  deco- 
rate a  corpse  and  guild  a  sepulchre  without  imparting  the 
life  of  God  to  the  human  soul  and  kindling  with  in  it  the 
blessed  hope  of  everlasting  life,  the  Church  and  State  will 
sink  into  decay  and  die. 

It  has  been  truly  said:  "The  greatness  of  the  founder 
of  Christianity  is  conspicuously  shown  in  His  passing  by 
social  institutions  as  of  minor  and  inconsiderable  importance, 
and  fastening  His  claims  upon  the  individual.  The  reform 
of  personal  character  was  His  one  aim;  with  Him  the  man 
was  great  and  the  institution  small.  There  was  but  one  way 
with  Him  for  making  a  good  society,  and  that  was  by  the 
purification  of  its  individual  materials,  .  .  .  No  good  society 
can  possibly  be  made  out  of  bad  materials,  and  when  the 
materials  are  made  good,  society  takes  a  good  form  nat- 
urally, as  pure  salt  makes  its  perfect  crystal  without  super- 
intendence."— (Dr.  J.  G.  Holland  in  Every  Day  Topics.) 

We  can  never  save  the  world  en  masse.  The  work  must 
be  done  by  the  regeneration  of  the  individual;  and  the  ef- 


124  Recollections 

fort  to  get  the  whole  population  to  hear  the  famous  evange- 
list and  to  create  a  popular  revival  will  not  succeed  in  the 
regeneration  of  men,  like  the  faithfulness  of  the  old  time 
revival,  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  the  right  of  way,  un- 
hindered by  having  the  minds  of  the  people  turned  to  the 
popular  human  instrument,  be  that  instrument  ever  so  good 
and  well  qualified. 

Our  humanity  is  so  weak  that  it  is  very  easy  for  us  to 
think  more  highly  of  ourselves  than  we  ought  to  think.  Even 
Paul  needed  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  a  messenger  of  Satan  to 
buffet  him  lest  he  be  exalted  above  measure  through  the 
abundance  of  revelations  that  were  made  to  him. 

So  much  for  the  human  instrumentality  that  God  employs 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  saving  the  souls  of  men.  The 
means  to  be  used  are  worthy  of  careful  consideration.  The 
preaching  of  the  truth  is  the  essential  thing  in  the  hands  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  Doctrinal  preaching,  that  is  the  preach- 
ing of  the  great  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  is  neces- 
sary to  save  the  individual  and  the  world.  All  permanent 
revival  work  must  be  based  on  sound  gospel  truth.  Some 
men  have  said  that  they  loved  religion,  but  hated  theology; 
but  theology  is  the  knowledge  of  God ;  and  how  can  a  knowl- 
edge of  God  be  contrary  or  opposed  to  religion  ?  Or  how  can 
there  be  any  true  religion  without  a  knowledge  of  God  ? 

The  Holy  Spirit  has  no  other  instrument  with  which  to 
work  but  the  truth,  explaining  man'^  relation  to  God  and 
God's  relation  to  man.  Theology  is  a  scientific  explanation 
of  these  relations  as  far  as  the  human  mind  and  heart 
can  understand  them. 

It  seems  to  me  that  a  superficial  knowledge  of  theology 
is  the  bane  of  our  modern  evangelism.  It  is  this  that 
leads  to  a  superficial  conversion  that  is  moved  by  a  repent- 
ance without  sorrow,  a  faith  without  trust,  and  an  atone- 


AND  Observations  125 

ment  without  blood,  to  a  formal  acceptance  of  Christ  with- 
out any  conscious  knowledge  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  or 
supernatural  hope  of  heaven  and  eternal  life.  We  are  in- 
clined in  these  times  to  undervalue  emotion ;  but  when  the 
great  change  wrought  in  the  soul  by  the  regenerating  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  takes  place  the  emotions  will  be  power- 
fully moved,  and  there  will  be  something  more  than  a  still 
spiritual  birth.  John  Wesley  was  a  calm,  logical  man,  but 
when  he  realized  that  he  was  saved,  he  tells  us :  "I  felt  my 
heart  strangely  warmed ;"  and  immediately  he  began  to  pray 
as  he  never  had  done  and  especially  for  any  who  had  treated 
him  unkindly. 

A  careful  comparison  of  the  statistics  given  in  these  recol- 
lections will  show  a  larger  per  cent,  of  additions  to  the 
church  from  year  to  year  vmder  our  old  methods  of  holding 
revivals  than  under  the  new.  Vv^e  are  too  often  carried  away 
by  the  idolatry  of  numbers;  but  the  permanent  growth  of 
the  church  is  secured  by  solid,  faithful  work  in  a  greater 
measure  than  by  a  superficial  method  that  counts  all  who 
will  manifest  their  acceptance  of  Christ  Vv^ithout  deep  con- 
viction and  conscious  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

There  may  be  a  short  lived  reformation  without  the  old 
fashioned  awakening  and  conversion,  but  the  work  is  not 
abiding.  There  is  another  evil  grov/ing  out  of  this  hurry 
up  process  in  v/hich  the  human  instumentality  is  the  most 
prominent  feature,  and  that  is  the  danger  of  filling  the 
church  with  an  unconverted  membership  that  cares  nothing 
for  the  most  solemn  vows,  or  the  requirements  of  church 
discipline. 

There  will  be,  I  fully  believe,  in  the  near  future  a  wonder- 
ful outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  It  will  be  Pene- 
costal  in  character,  just  as  all  great  revivals  have  been  since 
the  day  the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon  the  hundred  and  twenty 
disciples,  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  had  fully  come.     It  will 


126  Recollections 

be  a  revival  of  genuine  religion  and  not  a  religious  revival 
brought  about  by  modern  evangelistic  methods.  We  have 
not  improved  upon  the  methods  of  John  Wesley  and  his 
comrades.  I  believe  if  the  Methodist  Church  had  adherred 
to  the  old  plans  and  to  the  discipline  of  Wesley  we  would 
have  conqured  the  world ;  but  we  have,  in  large  measure, 
abandoned  our  methods  for  the  new  forms  of  evangelism, 
and  the  result  is,  we  have  lost  much  of  our  power  and  crip- 
pled our  efforts  in  the  work  of  soul-saving. 

There  is  a  word  that  has  come  into  use  that  has  taken 
the  place  of  religion  in  a  large  measure,  that  is  earth-born, 
but  high  sounding,  it  is  the  word  "altruism."  It  serves  as 
a  cloak  to  warm  the  modern  church  worker  and  to  satisfy 
him  for  a  time  in  the  delusive  hope  that  he  may  be  a  saved 
man  without  any  inward  assurance  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
or  any  satisfactory  assurance  of  heaven  and  eternal  life.  It 
introduces  a  species  of  sociology  in  which  there  is  much 
cordial  co-operation  of  human  beings  who  are  destitute  of 
the  experience  so  rigidly  required  by  Christ  and  His  apostles. 
It  frequently  scouts  the  doctrine  of  atonement  for  sin  and 
of  reconciliation  with  God.  It  not  unfrequently  denies  the 
necessity  for  propitiation  and  declares  that  God  never  de- 
mands any  satisfaction  for  His  broken  law,  and  denies  that 
God  is  even  angry  at  sin. 

But  the  old  truths  of  the  gospel  are  with  us  and  they 
are  still  working  like  the  little  leaven  that  a  woman  hid 
in  three  measures  of  meal  and  by  and  by  there  will  come 
to  the  world  a  God  consciousness  that  will  lift  humanity  to 
a  higher  plane  than  it  has  yet  reached.  Well  may  we  look 
forward  to  a  mighty  manifestation  of  God  to  follow  a  period 
without  a  parallel  of  bloodshed  and  carnage  such  as  is  now 
devastating  a  great  part  of  the  world,  and  leaving  in  its 
wake  suffering  nearly  equalling  that  when  Jerusalem  was 


AiNTD  Observations  127 

destroyed,  and  human  sorrow  reached  its  climax  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  world. 

Great  spiritual  awakenings  have  ever  followed  great  revo- 
lutions among  men ;  and  the  reaction  from  this  revolutionary 
period  will  no  doubt  bring  to  an  awakening  world  a  better 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  divine  things.  The  God  of  provi- 
dence is  the  God  of  grace;  and  He  will  let  no  evil  come  to 
the  world  beyond  His  control ;  His  grace  can  bring  good  out 
of  every  form  of  evil,  and  His  almighty  power  can  make  a 
world  devastated  by  war  and  baptized  in  blood  once  again 
rejoice  in  the  blessedness  of  peace,  of  human  happiness 
and  prosperity.  We  must  depend  for  the  accomplishment 
of  this  great  work  upon  Him  to  whom  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth  belongs,  and  who  has  promised  to  be  with  His 
church  to  the  end  of  time. 


128  Recollections 

CHAPTEE  XVII. 
Our  Schools  and  Colleges. 

Yv^en  I  entered  the  ministry  in  the  aSTorth  Carolina  Con- 
ference our  educational  facilities  were  limited.  Trinity  Col- 
lege at  Trinity  in  Kandolph  County,  was  struggling  for  ex- 
istence. Dr.  Craven,  the  President,  and  real  founder  of 
Trinity  College  was  our  greatest  asset.  He  was  doing  mag- 
nificent work  for  Church  and  State.  The  institution  was 
without  either  endowment  or  proper  equipment ;  but  Trinity 
was  turning  out  men  who  were  making  their  mark  on  the 
life  of  the  Church  and  State.  Too  much  can  hardly  be  said 
in  praise  of  Dr.  Craven  and  his  faithful  co-workers. 

And  yet  there  were  those  v/ho  did  not  fully  appreciate 
the  work  of  these  faithful  men,  and  instead  of  helping  them 
weakend  their  hands  by  unkind  criticism.  But  they  went 
forward  with  heroic  courage,  and  served  their  generation 
faithfully;  and  left  an  undying  monument  to  their  efforts 
to  impart  true  Christian  education  to  the  young  men  of 
their  day,  and  to  uphold  true  Christian  ideals  which  resulted 
in  the  betterment  of  the  Church  and  State. 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  Craven,  Rev.  M.  L.  Wood,  D.  D., 
was  for  a  short  time  president  of  the  college.  Dr.  Wood 
was  a  ffood  solid  man.  He  SDent  nine  years  in  the  mis- 
sion  field  of  China ;  having  lost  his  wife  there,  he  returned 
with  his  little  children  to  his  home  land.  He  resigned  the 
presidency  of  the  college  after  a  short  time  of  service  there 
and  went  back  into  the  presiding  eldership  and  pastorate. 
He  died  pastor  of  St.  John  and  Gibson  charge,  with  the  har- 
ness on,  and  did  faithful  work  to  the  last. 

The  next  President  of  Trinity  was  Dr.  John  Franklin 
Crowell.  While  he  was  president  of  the  college  steps  were 
taken  to  move  the  college  to  some  commercial  center.  The 
Board  of   Trustees   agreed  that  with   the  approval  of  the 


AND  Observations  12S 

North  Carolina  Conference  thej  would  move  the  college  if 
as  good  grounds  and  buildings  were  given  in  some  more 
populous  center.  At  the  Conference  in  Greensboro  in 
1889  there  v/as  a  proposition  made  by  the  citizens  of  Raleigh 
to  give  grounds  and  buildings  equal  in  value  to  those  of 
Trinity.  I  was  active  in  getting  the  citizens  of  Raleigh  to 
make  this  offer.  Dr.  Crowell  came  and  spent  a  week  with 
me,  and  we  had  a  meeting  of  the  citizens,  and  canvassed 
the  city,  and  secured  the  donations  that  were  offered  the 
Conference.  After  Raleigh  had  been  agreed  upon  as  the 
location  for  the  college,  Brother  Washington  Duke  said: 
"If  the  Conference  will  locate  Trinity  College  at  Durham 
I  will  give  as  much  towards  securing  grounds  and  buildings 
as  Raleigh  has  offered  and  $50,000.00  to  the  endowment 
(Raleigh  had  raised  $35,000.00  and  Mr.  Duke's  offer  was 
$85,000.00.)  Some  of  our  people  in  Raleigh  asked  me  what 
I  thought  of  the  Durham  proposition;  for  the  citizens  of 
Durham  added  $75,000.00  more  to  Mr.  Duke's  offer.  I 
advised  them  to  send  a  committee  to  Durham  with  the  propo- 
sition to  give  them  the  college  if  they  would  do  what  it 
was  reported  they  would  do.  The  committee  went  up  and 
made  the  proposition,  and  Raleigh  surrendered  the  insti- 
tution to  Durham  in  the  interest  of  Christian  educationj 
believing  that  Durham  had  offered  more  than  we  could  possi- 
bly raise  in  Raleigh.  This  action  on  the  part  of  the  citizens 
of  Raleigh  was  magnanimous;  and  I  never  heard  of  but 
one  protest  against  it,  and  that  was  from  one  of  our  largest 
contributors,  the  late  Major  R.  S.  Tucker.  I  do  not  think: 
he  was  ever  reconciled  to  our  giving  up  the  college  to  Dur- 
ham. The  late  Stanhope  Pullen,  who  was  another  large 
subscriber,  said :  "They  have  offered  more  than  we  can  give 
and  I  do  not  think  we  ought  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
college  getting  the  largest  gifts  it  can  get."     Raleigh  gave 

9 


130  Eecollectio^s's 

the  college  to  Durham  under  those  circumstances.  This 
is  a  true  account  of  the  removal  of  Trinity  College. 

Dr.  Crowell  remained  president  for  a  few  years,  and 
resigned.  He  was  a  competent  college  man ;  but  he  was 
a  Northern  man,  and  never  fully  understood  the  genius  of 
our  Southern  people.  He  never  became  a  member  of  our 
church,  or  Conference,  as  far  as  I  know. 

After  Dr.  Crowell  resigned  Kev.  John  Carlisle  Kilgo  be- 
came the  president,  and  with  his  eloquence  and  activity^ 
Trinity  began  to  make  a  decided  impression  on  the  State 
and  Church.  Some  things  transpired  that  were  much  re- 
gretted by  all  the  lovers  of  the  college  and  the  Church; 
but  in  spite  of  these.  Dr.  Kilgo  kept  his  hold  upon  the 
Conference  and  the  college,  until  he  was  elected  Bishop  by 
the  General  Conference  which  met  in  Asheville  in  1910.  Dr. 
Kilgo  secured  large  donations  from  the  Duke  family;  and 
when  he  retired  from  the  presidency  of  the  college,  he 
left  it  the  most  largely  endowed  and  best  equipped  insti- 
tution we  have  in  the  Southern  Methodist  Church.  Through 
the  beneficence  of  its  patron  family.  Trinity  has  grown  rich 
in  equipment  and  endowment.  At  the  Conference  of  1915 
the  value  of  property  belonging  to  Trinity  College  was 
reported  at  $1,196,924  with  an  endowment  of  $1,593,750. 
I  suppose  there  is  no  institution  among  us  that  has  sur- 
passed Trinity  College  in  material  growth  and  financial 
prosperity,  and  all  this  has  been  accomplished  within  this 
generation. 

When  I  entered  the  ministry  Dr.  E.  L.  Abernathy  was  the 
President  of  Kutherford  College.  This  institution  was  strug- 
gling along  without  means,  but  it  was  doing  a  great  work. 
I  was  told  that  during  the  time  that  Dr.  Abernethy  was  presi- 
dent there  were  ten  thousand  young  men  and  women  edu- 
cated in  whole  or  part  by  that  institution.  The  Abernathy 
family  did  the  teaching;  and  they  were  all  good  teachers 


AND  Observations  131 

and  intellectual  men.  The  work  they  did  entitles  them 
to  the  grateful  remembrance  of  the  Church  and  State. 

Greensboro  Female  College  was  just  rising  from  the  ashes, 
and  great  efforts  were  being  made  to  resuscitate  that  cher- 
ished institution  when  I  first  began  my  ministry.  This 
honored  institution  had  already  blessed  hundreds  of  homes 
with  cultured,  refined,  pious  women ;  and  after  many  vicissi- 
tudes it  stands  today  the  brightest  gem  among  the  colleges 
for  women  in  North  Carolina. 

Davenport  Female  College  was  doing  a  good  work  for 
female  education  also,  and  Littleton  College  came  into  being, 
and  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  blessing  the  State  by 
sending  from  its  halls  consecrated,  well  trained  young  wo- 
men under  the  faithful  presidency  of  Rev.  J.  M.  Rhodes. 

While  I  was  stationed  in  Raleigh  Prof.  S.  D.  Bagley  was 
president  of  Louisburg  Female  College.  I  got  a  letter  from 
him  one  day  asking  me  to  come  to  Louisburg  on  the  next  train 
without  fail.  I  could  not  imagine  what  he  wanted ;  but  having 
been  his  pastor  for  four  years,  and  knowing  him  well,  I  knew 
there  must  be  something  of  importance,  or  he  would  not 
urge  me  to  come  to  him  at  once.  I  went  and  found  that 
the  Louisburg  College  was  about  to  go  out  of  his  hands, 
and  the  hands  of  the  Church ;  but  if  $5,000.00  could  be 
raised  the  property  might  be  saved  to  the  Church,  He 
wanted  me  to  find  some  one  who  would  buy  the  college 
for  the  Church.  I  went  to  see  Brother  Washington  Duke 
and  finally  got  him  to  go  down  with  me  to  see  the  property. 
He  did  so  and  bought  it  and  held  it  for  a  few  years,  and 
then  deeded  it  to  the  Church.  There  we  have  a  good  school 
doing  fine  work,  the  donation  of  the  man  who  did  more 
in  a  financial  way  to  build  institutions  of  learning  than 
any  other  man  who  has  ever  lived  in  IS^orth  Carolina. 

There  are  many  other  things  I  might  say  about  our  schools 
and  colleo;es  since  I  have  been  connected  with  the  Confer- 


132  Recollections 

ence;  but  I  will  only  speak  of  a  few  things  that  have  oc- 
curred during  my  ministry  in  a  general  way  touching  our 
educational  efforts. 

It  was  about  the  beginning  of  my  ministry  that  the  Church 
was  just  beginning  to  found  a  university.  The  attention 
of  the  general  Church,  under  the  leadership  of  Bishop  Mc- 
Tyeire  was  being  turned  to  Central  University.  Some  money 
was  being  raised  for  this  institution,  when  Dr.  C.  F.  Deems, 
who  had  established  himself  as  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the 
Stangers  in  New  York  City  interested  Commodore  Vander- 
bilt  in  the  enterprise.  He  was  the  pastor  of  the  wife  of 
Commodore  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  who  was  one  of  the 
wealthiest  men  in  the  country.  In  addition  to  this  fact, 
Commodore  Vanderbilt's  wife  was  a  cousin  of  Mrs.  Mc- 
Tyeire,  and  in  this  way  Vanderbilt  became  interested  in 
the  enterprise  to  build  this  Central  University.  He  gave 
Bishop  McTyeire  one  million  dollars  to  enable  him  to  carry 
out  his  enterprise.  I  remember  the  circumstances,  and  I 
know  it  was  the  purpose  of  Bishop  McTyeire  and  of  Cor- 
nelius Vanderbilt  to  found  this  University  for  the  Southern 
Methodist  Church,  and  for  forty  years  no  one  ever  thought 
of  Vanderbilt  except  as  the  property  of  and  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  The  Church 
appointed  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  had  control  of  the 
institution  without  any  question  as  to  her  ownership.  But 
it  came  to  pass  that  some  one  found  a  technicality  in  the 
articles  of  incorporation  that  gave  color  to  the  contention 
that  the  Board  of  Trustees  had  a  right  to  control  the  Uni- 
versity independently  of  the  Church ;  and  the  men  who  had 
been  entrusted  by  the  Church  with  this  interest,  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  technicality  and  refused  to  allow  the  Church 
to  control  her  property.  The  matter  was  taken  into  the 
courts  and  it  seems  that  the  court  of  last  resort  in  Tennes- 
see felt  itself  justified  in  ignoring  all  questions  of  equity, 


AND  Observations  133 

and  in  giving  the  Board  of  Trustees,  the  servants  of  the 
Church,  the  right  to  take  this  property  from  its  rightful 
owners  and  to  use  and  control  it  to  suit  themselves.  The 
Church  gave  it  up,  being  turned  out  of  an  institution  that 
she  had  built  and  fostered  for  forty  years.  She  proceeded 
to  build  two  other  universities,  one  at  Atlanta,  Ga.  The 
Emory  University,  and  one  at  Dallas,  Texas,  the  Southern 
Methodist  University;  and  these  institutions  are  coming  to 
the  front  at  this  writing  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Surely  God 
can  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him,  and  the  remainder 
he  can  restrain. 

There  is  one  other  worthy  institution  of  our  Church,  which 
I  failed  to  notice  that  is  eminently  worthy  of  a  word  of 
commendation;  and  that  is  Carolina  College,  the  youngest 
of  our  colleges.  It  is  located  at  Maxton,  N.  C,  and  it  is 
presided  over  by  an  excellent  man.  Rev.  S.  E.  Mercer.  This 
institution  bids  fair  to  become  a  great  blessing  to  the  sec- 
tion of  the  State  in  which  it  is  situated. 

If  the  Church  can  continue  to  go  forward  with  her  insti- 
tutions of  learning  in  the  future  as  she  has  in  the  past,  we 
have  no  fear  that  she  will  be  driven  out  of  the  field  of 
education,  either  by  State  schools  or  by  the  independent  insti- 
tutions, which  wish  to  throw  off  all  control  either  from 
Church  or  State;  for  this  spirit  of  independence  in  educa- 
tion is  as  inimical  to  State  controlled  institutions  as  it 
is  to  those  institutions  built  and  controlled  by  the  Church. 
This  is  a  fact  that  is  generally  overlooked;  for  the  State 
very  properly  controls  her  educational  system;  and  these 
institutions  that  are  neither  controlled  by  Church  nor  State, 
are  a  hybred  species. 


134  Kecollections 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Pkogkess  of  ISToeth  Carolina  in  Forty-theee  Yeaks. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  progress  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  in  North  Carolina  during  the  period, of  my 
ministry  in  the  State,  and  it  may  be  of  interest  to  speak  of 
the  progress  of  the  State  during  that  period.  For  I  entered 
the  ministry  here  soon  after  the  War  Between  the  States, 
when  the  whole  Southland  was  just  beginning  to  rise  phoenix 
like  from  the  conflagration  of  war  that  devasted  this  fair 
land. 

At  that  time  there  were  no  electric  lights  to  brighten  our 
cities  or  our  homes.  The  telephone  had  not  been  invented, 
and  the  automobile  had  not  been  thought  of  in  any  practical 
way.  The  system  of  railroads  at  that  day  would  bear  no 
comparison  to  the  wonderful  moving  palaces  of  the  present 
time;  and  in  this  State  there  were  only  a  few  lines  running 
through  the  State.  My  first  charge  was  nearly  fifty  miles 
from  the  nearest  railroad. 

The  farming  industry  was  in  its  infancy,  compared  to 
what  it  is  today,  and  the  homes  of  our  people  were  in  a 
large  measure  destitute  of  the  conveniences  w^e  have  today. 
The  poor  of  this  generation  enjoy  comforts  that  the  rich  did 
not  have  then.  Time  would  fail  me  to  speak  of  the  phy- 
sical improvements  that  have  come  to  this  State  and  to 
whole  country  since  1872.  The  world  has  gone  forward  in 
improvements  that  make  life  more  enjoyable. 

The  educational  facilities  operated  by  the  State  in  her 
public  school  system  have  brought  the  opportunity  of  an 
education  within  reach  of  all  the  people;  and  the  old  field 
log  school  house  is  almost  entirely  forgotten.  In  every  town 
of  any  size  we  have  graded  school  buildings  that  •will  com- 
pare favorably  with  the  college  buildings  of  the  better  class 


AND  Observations  135 

forty  years  ago.  Our  towns  have  sprung  up  like  magic; 
many  of  them  were  nothing  more  than  cross  road  villages 
then,  the  home  of  the  proverbial  cross  roads  whiskey  saloon 
as  they  were  popularly  called  cross  roads   '^doggeries." 

I  have  not  the  statistics  at  hand  to  give  the  exact  figures, 
but  I  am  quite  sure  the  State  has  doubled  her  population 
since  then;  and  where  we  have  a  little  more  than  two  mil- 
lions of  inhabitants  now,  we  did  not  have  a  million  then.  As 
I  look  back  on  this  good  old  State  which  has  been  the  field 
of  my  life  work,  I  rejoice  at  the  goodness  of  God  shown  to 
this  greatly  blessed  land,  and  I  pray  for  a  continuance  of  His 
goodness  to  this  people  whom  He  has  always  blessed  with 
peculiar  blessings  and  loving  kindness. 

Should  the  world  stand  so  long,  and  th*^,  blessings  of 
peace  still  be  our  heritage,  what  will  North  Carolina  be 
in  1956  ?  We  have  often  thought  that  human  ingenuity 
had  reached  the  limit ;  but  when  we  were  ready  to  sit  down 
and  say  we  can  go  no  further,  now  that  from  our  homes  we 
may  talk  to  our  friends  miles  away,  wireless  telegraphy 
steps  in  and  send  its  messages  upon  the  air  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  by  its  aid  we  talk  around  the  world.  When 
the  first  telegraphic  message  was  sent  from  Washingtoii 
City  to  Baltimore,  I  heard  an  old  Methodist  Bishop  say 
he  was  present,  and  he  exclaimed :  ''Can  the  angels  beat 
that  ?"  But  were  he  here  now  he  would  see  that  the  genius 
of  man  has  beaten  it. 

Forty  years  ago  no  one  believed  it  hardly  possible  tliat 
man  would  ever  fly  in  a  heavier  than  air  machine,  and  did 
not  conceive  of  a  balloon  that  could  be  controlled,  and  navi- 
gated in  the  air  like  a  ship  in  the  sea.  But  the  air  is  full 
of  all  kinds  of  air  craft  today;  and  the  pity  of  it  all  is 
they  are  used  to  destroy  property  and  kill  people.  For  we 
are  turning  the  inventions  of  genuis  into  machines  of  desruc- 
tion  to  increase  the  sorrow  of  humanity,  to  blast  the  beauties 


186  Eecollections 

of  nature,  and  to  insult  the  Giver  of  every  blessing  by  abus- 
ing His  gifts. 

The  world  had  hoped  that  the  inventive  genius  of  man 
had  by  his  discovery  of  engines  of  destruction,  made  the 
idea  of  war  so  horrible  that  the  nations  would  never  again 
compact  themselves  into  armies  and  go  forth  to  kill  their 
fellow  men  until  a  pall  of  mourning  should  hang  over  the 
homes  of  the  .people  while  the  grass  was  being  drowned  in 
human  blood.  But  alas  there  has  arisen  a  godless  culture, 
spelled  with  a  K  that  lias  blasted  these  hopes,  and  is  carry- 
ing on  the  biggest  sacrifice  of  human  life  the  world  has  ever 
known.  As  we  stand  in  the  midst  of  this  arena  and  behold 
the  world  on  fire  with  diabolic  rage,  we  pause  to  ask,  "What 
19  the  end  to  be?"  The  storm  has  not  reached  us  yet;  but 
who  knows  how  soon  it  may  burst  upon  us  with  all  its  fury. 
We  have  one  consolation,  our  Lord  has  foretold  it  all,  and 
said,  "For  nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom 
against  kingdom;  and  there  shall  be  famines  and  pestilences 
and  earthquakes  in  divers  places.  All  these  are  the  begin- 
ning o£  sorrows."  (Matt.  24:7,  8.)  If  these  are  only  the 
beginning  of  sorrows,  what  must  there  be  still  in  store  for 
the  sinful  world?  But  our  Lord  says  to  us:  "See  that  ye  be 
not  troubled;  for  all  things  must  come  to  pass,  but  the  end 
is  not  yet."  (Matt.  24:6.)  Who  can  tell  what  a  day  may 
bring  forth  ?  Even  as  we  count  the  blessings  God  has  be- 
stowed upon  us,  how  careful  ought  we  to  be  that  we  may  be 
ready  to  give  an  account  of  our  stewardship  to  our  ]\Iaker  at 
any  time  ?  For  we  know  not  the  day  nor  the  hour  when  we 
may  be  called  to  account. 

After  all  these  years  of  study  and  experience,  and  amidst 
the  scenes  of  life  so  familiar  to  me,  I  find  but  one  sure 
refuge;  in  the  overruling  providence  and  almighty  power 
of  God,  there  still  remains  a  sure  retreat.     He  has  said,  "I 


AND  Observations  137 

will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee;"  and  to  this  refuge 
I  would  point  the  people  of  this  good  land  at  this  time  of 
changing  scenes,  and  great  national  crises  that  may  at  any 
time  alter  the  map  of  the  world,  and  bring  the  most  won- 
derful and  unexpected  national  upheavels. 


138  Recollections 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Things  That  Abide. 

As  I  come  to  the  close  of  these  Recollections  and  Observa- 
tions and  think  of  the  changes  I  have  seen  during  my  life 
time,  I  am  reminded  of  the  things  that  change  not.  No 
doubt  St.  Paul  w^as  impressed  with  the  immutable  nature  of 
them  when  he  wrote:  "And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love, 
these  three;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  love."     (I  Cor.  13:- 

13.) 

Generations  may  come  and  go ;  nations  may  rise  and  fall ; 
the  discoveries  of  science  may  change  the  trend  of  human 
thought  so  that  the  teachings  of  the  schools  in  one  genera- 
tion may  be  laid  aside  in  the  next;  and  the  customs  and 
habits  of  men  may  assume  new  forms;  but  the  great  truths 
of  the  Gospel  and  the  deep  experiences  of  the  human  soul, 
under  the  tutelage  of  the  Holy  Spirit  remain  the  same. 

There  are  not  many  things  that  we  can  know  to  be  cer- 
tainly, and  abidingly  true,  apart  from  the  unchanging  truths 
of  God;  these  we  may  certainly  know;  these  experiences 
of  the  soul  are  positive,  and  are  the  things  we  may  cer- 
tainly know  with  all  the  assurance  of  consciousness;  and 
consciousness  is  the  highest  tribunal.  And  this  absolute 
knowledge  of  divine  things,  after  all,  is  the  glory  of  Chris- 
tianity. Without  this  knowledge  Christianity  would  sink 
to  the  level  of  the  other  religions  of  the  world,  and  leave 
the  human  mind  and  heart  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  on  the 
most  momentous  questions  of  life.  The  experience  of  Chris- 
tians— those  who  have  known  God  in  the  forgiveness  of 
sin,  and  in  the  spiritual  regeneration  of  the  soul — ^has  been 
the  same  in  all  the  ages  since  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The 
apostles  of  Christ  preached  a  positive  gospel;  this  is  espe- 


AND  Observations  139 

cially  true  of  St.  John  and  St.  Paul.  There  was  no  note  of 
uncertainty  in  their  utterances. 

The  poet  says  in  the  spirit  of  pessimism,  ''We  know  not 
anything,"  but  it  is  not  the  note  in  which  the  apostles  wrote. 
St.  John  says :   ''We  know  that  whatsoever  is  begotten  of 

God  sinneth  not We  know  that  we  are  of  God, 

and  the  whole  world  lieth  in  the  evil  one We  know 

that  the  Son  of  God  is  come."  (I  John  V:18-20.)  He 
reiterates  "We  know"  three  times  over.  There  may  have 
been  some  things  about  which  John  would  have  confessed 
himself  ignorant,  but  there  were  things  of  which  he  was 
absolutely  certain — I  repeat  absolutely  certain  and  sure.  Look 
at  his  language,  it  is  provocative  in  its  calm  dogmatism.  He 
does  not  say  "we  suppose",  "we  think",  "we  hope",  "we 
should  like  to  believe,"  but  "we  know,  vv-e  know,  we  know." 
This  is  the  genuine  Christian  note ;  the  ring  of  a  steady  and 
serene  conviction  of  an  abiding  truth.  These  apostles  spoke 
as  men  sure  of  their  ground,  who  had  set  their  feet  upon  a 
rock,  and  were  sure  of  their  footing  amid  the  changing  scenes 
of  time. 

After  all  these  years  of  trials  and  experiences,  I  am  ready 
to  say,  "I  know  these  truths ;  and  I  can  calmly  trust  God 
for  time  and  eternity  to  fulfil  all  His  gracious  promises." 
I  came  into  this  knowledge  when  I  became  fully  conscious 
of  the  terrible  fact  of  sin,  and  experienced  forgiveness.  More 
than  forty  years  of  study  and  effort  to  keep  up  with  the 
trend  of  thought  does  not  shake  in  the  least  the  great 
experience  of  salvation.  These  are  the  things  that  abide. 
Everything  that  we  know  in  this  world  is  subject  to  change; 
and  we  are  told  that  the  voice  of  God  shook  the  earth : 
"But  now  he  hath  promised,  saying,  yet  once  more,  I  shake 
not  the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven.  And  this  word,  yet 
once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of  those  things  that  are 


140  Recollections 

shaken,  as  of  things  that  are  made,  that  those  things  which 
cannot  be  shaken  may  remain."     (Heb.  12:26,  27.) 

The  immovable  unchanging  things  that  cannot  be  shaken 
are  the  spiritual  things  that  belong  to  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
They,  like  the  Author  and  finisher  of  faith,  are  the  same 
yesterday,  today  and  forever. 

When  we  are  rooted  and  grounded  in  an  experimental 
knowledge  of  divine  things  we  are  not  driven  about  by  every 
wind  of  doctrine.  We  need  to  know  that  something  is  true, 
and  abiding,  and  the  work  of  the  spirit  of  truth  upon  our 
spiritual  nature,  gives  this  knowledge,  and  with  it  comes 
the  assurance  that,  though  the  heavens  and  the  earth  pass 
away,  the  Word  of  our  Lord  shall  not  pass  away. 

This  abiding  experience  of  divine  things  is  founded  on 
a  clear  conception  of  sin  and  forgiveness.  The  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith  in  Christ  is  fundamental.  This  doc- 
trine goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  firm  belief  in  a  triune 
deity;  for  wherever  there  is  lack  of  faith  in  the  Trinity  in 
Unity,  there  will  be  uncertainty  on  almost  every  important 
fact  in  human  experience.  The  man  who  says  I  am  not 
a  Unitarian,  and  I  am  not  certain  that  I  believe  in  the 
Trinity,  must  of  necessity  have  a  fragmentary  theology,  and 
an  unsatisfactory  foundation  on  which  to  stand.  He  may 
be  the  devotee  of  a  system  of  ethics ;  but  there  must  of 
necessity  be  a  feeling  of  uncertainty,  and  a  want  of  steadi- 
ness in  his  foundation  of  belief  that  will  lack  assurance  of 
abiding  capacity,  such  as  is  really  necessary  to  give  him 
assurance  of  abiding  steadfastness. 

The  spiritual  experiences  we  possess  here  will  abide  with 
us  when  we  leave  this  world  of  shadows  and  come  into  the 
pure  light  of  that  eternal  world,  where  we  shall  see  as  we 
are  seen,  and  know  as  we  are  kno^vn.  There  are  yet  un- 
revealed  things  that  the  child  of  God  does  not  possess; 
but  they  cannot  be  contrary  to  the  spiritual  inheritance  he 


AND  Observations  141 

now  lias.  While  like  St.  John  he  may  be  constrained  to  say : 
"Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be;  but  we  know  that  when  he  shall 
appear  we  shall  be  like  him;  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 
(I  John  3:2.)  While  there  are  things  in  store  for  the  true 
disciple  of  Christ  that  he  may  not  fully  comprehend,  yet 
he  knows  that  they  are  of  like  nature  with  his  present  posses- 
sion; and  in  this  assurance  he  abides  in  the  full  confidence 
of  having  received  the  first  fruits  of  the  spirit — an  earnest 
of  the  full  inheritance  in  store  for  him. 

Here  we  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight;  but  "Faith  is  the 
substance  of  things  hoped  for;  the  evidence  of  things  un- 
seen;" and  is  not  simply  an  unaided  effort  of  the  mind, 
grappling  helplessly  with  the  great  problems  of  being,  like 
the  infant  crying  in  the  night  whose  existence  is  found  alone 
in  the  poetic  imagination  of  unbelief.  Faith  is  humble  reli- 
ance on  God,  who  through  this  door  of  the  human  soul,  comes  in 
to  shed  light  and  joy  on  the  spiritual  nature  of  man.  The 
beautiful  poem  o*f  John  G.  Whittier  gives  a  graphic  descrip- 
tion of  faith  and  the  blessings  it  brings  to  the  soul : 

"I  bow  my  forehead  in  the  dust, 

1  veil  mine  eyes  for  shame, 
And  urge,  in  trembling  self  distrust, 

A  prayer  without  a  claim. 
No  offering  of  mine  own  I  have, 

No  works  my  faith  to  prove; 
I  can  but  give  the  gifts  He  gave. 

And  plead  His  love  for  love! 

"I  dimly  guess,  from  blessing  known, 
Of  greater  out  of  sight ; 
And  with  the  chastened  psalmist,  own 
His  judgments,  too,  are  right. 


142  Recollections  and  Observations 

And  if  my  heart  and  flesh  are  weak 

To  bear  an  untried  pain, 
The  bruised  reed  He  will  not  break, 
»  But  strengthen  and  sustain. 

''I  know  not  v/hat  the  future  hath 

Of  marvel  or  surprise, 
Assured  alone  that  life  and  death 

His  mercy  underlies. 
And  so  beside  the  silent  sea 

I  wait  the  muffled  oar : 
JSTo  harm  from  Him  can  come  to  me 

On  ocean  or  on  shore. 

"I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 

Their  fronded  palms  in  air; 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 

Beyond  His  love  and  care." 

These  experiences  and  hopes  are  things  that  abide  as 
an  unfailing  treasure  of  the  human  soul ;  and  in  their  en- 
joyment the  Christian  has  an  inheritance,  even  in  this  pres- 
ent life  that  is  incorruptible  and  that  fadeth  not  av/ay. 

May  all  who  read  these  Recollections  and  Observations 
inherit  this  unfailing  treasure  of  heavenly  riches. 


DATE  Due 

FORM   335     40N 

1      9-42 

Div.S.       922.7      N251      c.3      453719 


H1720 1-29200 


seuBjqn  AjisjeAiun  sina 


